Ain't necessarily so: review and critique of recent meta-analyses of behavioral medicine interventions in health psychology.
OBJECTIVE
We examined four meta-analyses of behavioral interventions for adults (Dixon, Keefe, Scipio, Perri, & Abernethy, 2007; Hoffman, Papas, Chatkoff, & Kerns, 2007; Irwin, Cole, & Nicassio, 2006; and Jacobsen, Donovan, Vadaparampil, & Small, 2007) that have appeared in the Evidence Based Treatment Reviews section of Health Psychology.


METHODS
Narrative review.


METHODS
We applied the following criteria to each meta-analysis: (1) whether each meta-analysis was described accurately, adequately, and transparently in the article; (2) whether there was an adequate attempt to deal with methodological quality of the original trials; (3) the extent to which the meta-analysis depended on small, underpowered studies; and (4) the extent to which the meta-analysis provided valid and useful evidence-based recommendations.


RESULTS
Across the four meta-analyses, we identified substantial problems with the transparency and completeness with which these meta-analyses were reported, as well as a dependence on small, underpowered trials of generally poor quality.


CONCLUSIONS
Results of our exercise raise questions about the clinical validity and utility of the conclusions of these meta-analyses. Results should serve as a wake up call to prospective authors, reviewers, and end-users of meta-analyses now appearing in the literature.
Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, 3535 Market St., Room 676, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. jcoyne@mail.med.upenn.edu
James C
JC
Coyne
Brett D
BD
Thombs
Mariet
M
Hagedoorn
D000328:Adult; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001524:Behavioral Medicine / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015982:Bias; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D055317:Evidence-Based Practice; D006291:Health Policy; D006801:Humans; D015201:Meta-Analysis as Topic; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012107:Research Design; D007319:Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D016896:Treatment Outcome