Recent meta-analyses neglect previous systematic reviews and meta-analyses about the same topic: a systematic...

Area of Science:

• Medical research
• Evidence-based medicine
• Pharmacological treatments

Background:

• The volume of systematic reviews is rapidly increasing.
• Investigating how recent meta-analyses reference prior evidence is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically examine if meta-analyses in leading medical journals adequately reference previous meta-analyses and systematic reviews.
• To identify factors influencing the citation and discussion of prior work.

Main Methods:

• Searched PubMed for meta-analyses of pharmacological treatments in high-impact journals.
• Identified previous systematic reviews and meta-analyses.
• Analyzed the citation, description, and discussion of prior studies in recent meta-analyses.
• Investigated publication characteristics affecting referencing practices.

Main Results:

• Of 52 recent meta-analyses, 66% cited, 36% described, and 20% discussed 242 previous meta-analyses.
• Citations were associated with higher journal impact factor and recent publication dates.
• Description was inversely associated with result concordance; discussion was linked to prior meta-analytic methods.

Conclusions:

• Meta-analyses on pharmacological treatments do not consistently engage with previous findings.
• This lack of engagement contributes to research waste and reader confusion.
• Journals should mandate the discussion of related meta-analyses.