| Author(s): |
Rebecca DerSimonian; Raghu N. Kacker; |
| Title: |
Random-Effects Model for Meta-analysis of Clinical Trials: An Update |
| Published: |
January 01, 2007 |
| Abstract: |
The random-effects model is a useful approach for meta-analysis of clinical studies. It explicitly accounts for the heterogeneity of studies through a statistical parameter representing the inter-study variation. We discuss several iterative and non-iterative alternative methods for estimating the inter-study variance and hence the overall population treatment effect. We show that the leading methods for estimating the inter-study variance are special cases of a general method-of-moments estimate of the inter-study variance. The general method suggests two new two-step methods. The iterative estimate is statistically optimal and it can be easily calculated on a spreadsheet program, such as Microsoft Excel, available on the desktop of most researchers. The two-step methods are useful when a non-iterative estimate is desired. |
| Citation: |
Controlled Clinical Trials |
| Volume: |
28 |
| Pages: |
pp. 105 - 114 |
| Keywords: |
clinical trials;meta-analysis;random effects model;restricted maximum likelihood;variance components |
| Research Areas: |
Math, Statistics |
| PDF version: |
 Click here to retrieve PDF version of paper (256KB) |
