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Bias in Peripheral Depression Biomarkers.

André F Carvalho¹, Cristiano A Köhler, André R Brunoni

¹Translational Psychiatry Research Group and Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Federal University of Cearx00E1;, Fortaleza, Brazil.

Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics

|January 26, 2016

Summary

Studies on peripheral biomarkers for major depressive disorder (MDD) may be biased. An excess of significant results and inflated effect sizes suggest potential publication bias in MDD biomarker research.

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Area of Science:

Biomarkers
Neuroscience
Psychiatry

Background:

Peripheral biomarkers are investigated for differentiating major depressive disorder (MDD) from healthy individuals.
Previous research has not comprehensively evaluated publication bias or effect size inflation in MDD biomarker studies.

Purpose of the Study:

To conduct a comprehensive review of meta-analyses on peripheral, non-genetic biomarkers for MDD.
To assess potential bias, including publication bias and effect size inflation, in the existing literature.

Main Methods:

Systematic review of meta-analyses identified through searches of PubMed/MEDLINE, EMBASE, and PsycINFO databases up to April 2015.
Analysis of 31 eligible meta-analyses involving 21,201 MDD cases and 78,363 controls.

Main Results:

Twenty meta-analyses reported statistically significant effect sizes for 20 biomarkers.
High heterogeneity (I2 ≥ 50%) was observed in 29 meta-analyses.
An excess of statistically significant studies and evidence of small-study effects were noted in numerous meta-analyses, suggesting potential bias.

Conclusions:

The literature on peripheral MDD biomarkers shows an excess of statistically significant findings.
Selective publication of positive studies and outcome reporting may inflate effect size estimates.
Caution is advised regarding the interpretation of effect sizes in MDD biomarker research.