HELOW: a program for testing extreme homogeneity in meta-analysis
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Elias Zintzaras1, John P Ioannidis2
1Department of Biomathematics, University of Thessaly School of Medicine, Larissa, Greece; Institute for Clinical Research and Health Policy Studies, Tufts Medical Center, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
Abstract:
Meta-analysis aims to synthesize results from different studies. Although, in a meta-analysis the presence of large between-study heterogeneity is routinely evaluated, in some instances is also important to probe whether there is extreme between-study homogeneity (i.e. extreme low between-study heterogeneity). HELOW (HEterogeneity LOW) is a program for testing extreme homogeneity in a meta-analysis of risk ratios when binary outcome and Mantel-Haenszel fixed effects summary risk ratio estimate are employed. The significance of extreme homogeneity is assessed using a Monte Carlo test. Extreme homogeneity may yield insights for the statistical and clinical interpretation of the data.
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