Article type
Year
Abstract
Objectives: To assess the number and quality of meta-analyses and systematic reviews of healthcare interventions assessing quality of life.
Methods: We identified papers published between January 1966 and November 2004 by searching PubMed. Key words included: "quality of life," "meta-analysis" and "systematic review". We considered papers written in English and excluded duplicates. We identified 177 references. One author (CA) reviewed the abstracts for relevance to the study. Papers were included only if health-related quality of life broadly defined was a primary or secondary endpoint. All papers were abstracted and reviewed by at least two authors.
Preliminary Results: A total of 64 papers met inclusion criteria; 17 in oncology, 12 in cardiovascular diseases and 5 in respiratory diseases. The remaining covered a wide range of healthcare conditions including allergy (2), CNS (5), ENT (1), geriatrics (3), GI disorders (3), haematology (2), HIV (1), nephrology (3), ophthalmology (1), oral health (1), pediatrics (1), plastic surgery (2), psychiatry (4), and rheumatology (1). Ten of these meta-analyses were Cochrane reviews. Interestingly, 16 of the 113 papers not retained recommended that HRQL be evaluated in the future to find the optimal treatment option. The papers covered a broad spectrum of conditions such as advanced cancers, Alzheimer, ANCA-associated vasculitis, asthma, chronic hepatitis C in children, depression, HBP, inflammatory dermatoses, metastatic bone pain, nodular thyroid disease, Parkinson, schizophrenia, and venous leg ulcers.
Next steps: Quality will be assessed for clear labelling of concepts measured, inclusion of blinding, method of data collection, use of multiple comparisons, control of covariates and confounders, translation of results into meaningful terms, and study funding. Conclusions will be drawn on the quality and recommendations made to improve meta-analyses and systematic reviews that include patient-reported outcomes.
Methods: We identified papers published between January 1966 and November 2004 by searching PubMed. Key words included: "quality of life," "meta-analysis" and "systematic review". We considered papers written in English and excluded duplicates. We identified 177 references. One author (CA) reviewed the abstracts for relevance to the study. Papers were included only if health-related quality of life broadly defined was a primary or secondary endpoint. All papers were abstracted and reviewed by at least two authors.
Preliminary Results: A total of 64 papers met inclusion criteria; 17 in oncology, 12 in cardiovascular diseases and 5 in respiratory diseases. The remaining covered a wide range of healthcare conditions including allergy (2), CNS (5), ENT (1), geriatrics (3), GI disorders (3), haematology (2), HIV (1), nephrology (3), ophthalmology (1), oral health (1), pediatrics (1), plastic surgery (2), psychiatry (4), and rheumatology (1). Ten of these meta-analyses were Cochrane reviews. Interestingly, 16 of the 113 papers not retained recommended that HRQL be evaluated in the future to find the optimal treatment option. The papers covered a broad spectrum of conditions such as advanced cancers, Alzheimer, ANCA-associated vasculitis, asthma, chronic hepatitis C in children, depression, HBP, inflammatory dermatoses, metastatic bone pain, nodular thyroid disease, Parkinson, schizophrenia, and venous leg ulcers.
Next steps: Quality will be assessed for clear labelling of concepts measured, inclusion of blinding, method of data collection, use of multiple comparisons, control of covariates and confounders, translation of results into meaningful terms, and study funding. Conclusions will be drawn on the quality and recommendations made to improve meta-analyses and systematic reviews that include patient-reported outcomes.