Publication bias is underreported in systematic reviews published in high-impact-factor journals: metaepidemiologic study

Ref ID 334
First Author A. Onishi
Journal JOURNAL OF CLINICAL EPIDEMIOLOGY
Year Of Publishing 2014
URL https://www.jclinepi.com/article/S0895-4356(14)00274-1/fulltext
Keywords Publication bias
General medical
Problem(s) Poor consideration of publication bias
Number of systematic reviews included 116
Summary of Findings The assessment of publication bias was not reported in 31.0% of included reviews, particularly in reviews without a comprehensive literature search. Of these 36 reviews, seven (19.4%) were found to have a significant publication bias. The original pooled results may have been overestimated by a median of 50.9% if corrected for publication bias. Among the 28 reviews with publication bias including both reviews that did or did not report the assessment of publication bias, seven reviews (25.0%) did not report the presence of publication bias.
Did the article find that the problem(s) led to qualitative changes in interpretation of the results? Yes
Are the methods of the article described in enough detail to replicate the study? Yes