Skip to main content

Table 1 Characteristics of the 23 included meta-analyses

From: Primary versus secondary source of data in observational studies and heterogeneity in meta-analyses of drug effects: a survey of major medical journals

Meta-analysis

Variables

First author

Year

Journal

Drug exposure

Outcome

Weiss J [20]

2017

Ann Intern Med

Antihypertensive drugs

Harms outcomes: Cognitive impairment, quality of life, falls, fractures, syncope, functional status, hypotension, acute kidney injury, medication burden, withdrawal due to adverse events

Bally M [21]

2017

BMJ

NSAIDs

Myocardial infarction

Sordo L [22]

2017

BMJ

Opioid substitution treatment (methadone, buprenorphine)

All cause and overdose mortality

Tariq R [23]

2017

JAMA Intern Med

Gastric acid suppressants

Recurrent Clostridium difficile infection

Maruthur NM [24]

2016

Ann Intern Med

Diabetes monotherapy (thiazolidinediones, metformin, sulfonylureas, DPP-4 inhibitors, SGLT-2 inhibitors, GLP-1 receptor agonists) or metformin-based combinations

All-cause mortality, macrovascular and microvascular outcomes, intermediate outcomes (hemoglobin A1c, body weight, systolic blood pressure, heart rate), hypoglycemia, gastrointestinal side effects, genital mycotic infections, congestive heart failure

Paul S [25]

2016

Ann Intern Med

Antiviral prophylaxis

Primary outcome: Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) reactivation

Secondary outcomes: HBV-related hepatitis, interrupted chemotherapy, acute liver failure, mortality

Li L [26]

2016

BMJ

Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors

Heart failure

Hospital admissions for heart failure

Molnar AO [27]

2015

BMJ

Generic immunosuppressive drugs

Patient survival, allograft survival, acute rejection, adverse events, bioequivalence

Ziff OJ [28]

2015

BMJ

Digoxin

Primary outcome: All-cause mortality

Secondary outcomes: Cardiovascular mortality; admission to hospital for any cause, cardiovascular causes and heart failure; incident stroke, incident myocardial infarction

CGESOC [29]

2015

Lancet

Hormone therapy (oestrogen, progestagen)

Ovarian cancer

Bellemain- Appaix A [30]

2014

BMJ

Tienopyridines (clopidogrel)

Primary outcome: All-cause mortality, major bleeding

Secondary outcomes: Major cardiovascular events and myocardial infarction, stroke, urgent revascularization, stent thrombosis

Grigoriadis S [31]

2014

BMJ

Antidepressants (SSRIs)

Persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn

Li L [32]

2014

BMJ

Incretin-based treatments

Pancreatitis

Kalil AC [33]

2014

JAMA

Vancomycin MIC

All-cause mortality

Stegeman BH [34]

2013

BMJ

Combined oral contraceptives

Venous thrombosis

Maneiro JR [35]

2013

JAMA Intern Med

Biologic agents (abatacept, adalimumab, etanercept, golimumab, infliximab, rituximab)

Influence of AABs: on efficacy in immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, or other spondyloarthropathies), in hypersensitivity reactions, and on the concentration of biological drugs; effect of concomitant treatment in development of AAB

Hartling L [36]

2012

Ann Intern Med

Antipsychotics

Primary outcomes: Improved core symptoms of illness (positive and negative symptoms and general psychopathology), adverse events: diabetes mellitus, death, tardive dyskinesia, major metabolic syndrome

Secondary outcomes: Functional outcomes, health care system use; response, remission and relapse rates; medication adherence, health-related quality of life, other patient-oriented outcomes (e.g. patient satisfaction), other adverse events: extrapyramidal symptoms, weight gain

Hsu J [37]

2012

Ann Intern Med

Antivirals (oseltamivir, zanamivir, amantadine, rimantadine)

Mortality, hospitalization, intensive care unit admission, mechanical ventilation and respiratory failure, duration of hospitalization, duration of signs and symptoms, time to return to normal activity, complications, critical adverse events: major psychotic disorders, encephalitis, stroke, seizure; important adverse events: pain in extremities, clonic twitching, body weakness, dermatologic changes (urticaria or rash); influenza viral shedding, emergence of antiviral resistance

Caldeira D [38]

2012

BMJ

ACEIs and ARBs

Incidence of pneumonia

Pneumonia related mortality

MacArthur GJ [39]

2012

BMJ

Opiate substitution, methadone detoxification

HIV infection among people who inject drugs

Mantha S [40]

2012

BMJ

Progestin-only contaception

Venous thromboembolic events

Silvain J [41]

2012

BMJ

Enoxaparin, unfractioned heparin

Primary outcome: Mortality, major bleeding

Secondary outcomes: Composite ischaemic end point (death or myocardial infarction), complications of myocardial infarction, minor bleeding

McKnight RF [42]

2012

Lancet

Lithium

Renal function, thyroid function, parathyroid function, hair disorders, skin disorders, bodyweight, teratogenicity

  1. Abbreviations: AABs antibodies against biologic agents, ACEIs, angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors, Ann Intern Med Annals of Internal Medicine, ARBs angiotensin receptor blockers, BMJ British Medical Journal, DPP-4 Dipeptidyl Peptidase-4, GLP-1 glucagon like peptide-1, JAMA Journal of the American Medical Association, MIC minimum inhibitory concentration, NSAIDs non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, SGLT-2 sodium–glucose cotransporter 2, SSRIs selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors