International Journal of Epidemiology 2002;31:1-5
© International Epidemiological Association 2002
Editorial |
Where now for meta-analysis?
Editorial Office, International Journal of Epidemiology, Department of Social Medicine, University of Bristol, UK.
Matthias Egger, Department of Social Medicine, Canynge Hall, Whiteladies Road, Bristol BS8 2PR, UK. E-mail: m.egger@bristol.ac.uk
In the short time since its introduction, meta-analysis, the statistical pooling of the results from independent but ‘combinable’ studies, has established itself as an influential branch of clinical epidemiology and health services research, with hundreds of meta-analyses published in the medical literature each year.1 This issue of the International Journal of Epidemiology contains several papers2–9 that address methodological issues in meta-analytic research, a review article on where we stand with systematic reviews in observational epidemiology10 and three meta-analyses of observational studies.11–13 Publication of a themed issue on meta-analysis by an epidemiological journal begs several questions: Where does meta-analysis come from? Does it deserve the attention it is currently getting? And where should it be going next?
The statistical basis of meta-analysis reaches back to the 17th century when, in astronomy, intuition and experience suggested that combinations of data might be better than attempts to select amongst them.14 In the 20th
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