title: Reviews of individual patient data (IPD) are useful for geriatrics: an overview of available IPD reviews.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine how many individual patient data (IPD) reviews that included older people were available in MEDLINE and whether the effectiveness of treatments differed between older and younger individuals.
  
  
  METHODS
  Overview of IPD reviews.
  
  
  METHODS
  A MEDLINE search was conducted for IPD reviews of randomized controlled trials published before July 2012.
  
  
  METHODS
  IPD reviews that presented a regression model that included age as a factor or a subgroup analysis of individuals aged 70 and older or in which all participants were aged 70 and older.
  
  
  METHODS
  Whether the IPD reviews reported similar conclusions for the younger and older populations was evaluated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-six IPD reviews with a subgroup of older individuals and eight reviews with only older individuals were included (median N = 3,351). The most important reason for choosing an IPD review was the ability to perform a subgroup analysis in the older population. Fourteen IPD reviews suggested that older people should receive different treatments from younger people because of differences in effectiveness, six of which indicated that the investigated treatment(s) should be avoided in older adults.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  IPD review is a valuable approach for generating evidence in older adults. Treatment effects frequently differed between older and younger individuals. Still, IPD results should be applied to older adults cautiously, because they are often excluded from primary trials. The collaborative sharing of raw data should be promoted to improve evidence-based decisions for this group.
authors.affiliation: Section of Geriatrics, Department of Internal Medicine, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Dutch Cochrane Centre, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Esther M M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: van de Glind
authors.forename: Hanneke F M
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Rhodius-Meester
authors.forename: Johannes B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Reitsma
authors.forename: Lotty
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hooft
authors.forename: Barbara C
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: van Munster
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003625:Data Collection; D005853:Geriatrics; D006801:Humans; D010361:Patients; D012196:Review Literature as Topic
keywords: elderly; evidence-based medicine; geriatrics; individual patient data meta-analyses; individual patient data review