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Quantitative Meta-analysis (quantitative + meta-analysi)
Selected AbstractsSystematic Review and Meta-analysis of Incidence Studies of Epilepsy and Unprovoked SeizuresEPILEPSIA, Issue 11 2002Irene A. W. Kotsopoulos Summary: ,Purpose: To evaluate the methodology of incidence studies of epilepsy and unprovoked seizures and to assess the value of their findings by summarizing their results. Methods: A Medline literature search from January 1966 to December 1999 was conducted. In each selected study, key methodologic items such as case definition and study design were evaluated. Furthermore, a quantitative meta-analysis of the incidence data was performed. Results: Forty incidence studies met the inclusion criteria. There was considerable heterogeneity in study methodology, and the methodologic quality score was generally low. The median incidence rate of epilepsy and unprovoked seizures was 47.4 and 56 per 100,000, respectively. The age-specific incidence of epilepsy was high in those aged 60 years or older, but was highest in childhood. Males had a slightly higher incidence of epilepsy (median, 50.7/100,000) than did females (median, 46.2/100,000), and partial seizures seemed to occur more often than generalized seizures. Developing countries had a higher incidence rate of epilepsy (median, 68.7/100,000) than did industrialized countries (median, 43.4/100,000). Similar results were found for unprovoked seizures. The incidence of epilepsy over time appears to decrease in children, whereas it increases in the elderly. Conclusions: The age-specific incidence of epilepsy showed a bimodal distribution with the highest peak in childhood. No definitive conclusions could be reached for the incidence of unprovoked seizures and other specific incidence rates of epilepsy. More incidence studies with an adequate study methodology are needed to explore geographic variations and time trends of the incidence of epilepsy and unprovoked seizures. [source] Disorganized infant attachment and preventive interventions: A review and meta-analysisINFANT MENTAL HEALTH JOURNAL, Issue 3 2005Marian J. Bakermans-Kranenburg Infant disorganized attachment is a major risk factor for problematic stress management and later problem behavior. Can the emergence of attachment disorganization be prevented? The current narrative review and quantitative meta-analysis involves 15 preventive interventions (N = 842) that included infant disorganized attachment as an outcome measure. The effectiveness of the interventions ranged from negative to positive, with an overall effect size of d = 0.05 (ns). Effective interventions started after 6 months of the infant's age (d = 0.23). Interventions that focused on sensitivity only were significantly more effective in reducing attachment disorganization (d = 0.24) than interventions that (also) focused on support and parent's mental representations (d = ,0.04). Most sample characteristics were not associated with differences in effect sizes, but studies with children at risk were more successful (d = 0.29) than studies with at-risk parents (d = ,0.10), and studies on samples with higher percentages of disorganized attachment in the control groups were more effective (d = 0.31) than studies with lower percentages of disorganized children in the control group (d = ,0.18). The meta-analysis shows that disorganized attachments may change as a side effect of sensitivity-focused interventions, but it also illustrates the need for interventions specifically focusing on the prevention of disorganization. [source] A quantitative meta-analysis of neurocognitive sequelae in survivors of pediatric brain tumors,,PEDIATRIC BLOOD & CANCER, Issue 3 2010Kristen E. Robinson MS Abstract Background Deficits in neurocognitive functioning are an important area of late effects in survivors of pediatric brain tumors, but a quantitative analysis of the magnitude of these deficits has yet to be conducted. Procedure The purpose of the current article is to provide a comprehensive meta-analysis of the literature on long-term neurocognitive effects found in these survivors. Results Results indicated significant deficits in both narrow and broad indices of neurocognitive functioning, and the overall magnitude of the effects across all domains ranged from small to large in magnitude (g,=,,0.45 to ,1.43) with a large mean overall effect size of g,=,,0.91. Conclusions These findings underscore the importance of monitoring the neurocognitive late effects in survivors of pediatric brain tumors, and the need for more consistent consideration of demographic, diagnostic, and treatment-related variables in future research to allow for examination of factors that may moderate these deficits. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2010;55:525,531. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Are expert athletes ,expert' in the cognitive laboratory?APPLIED COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 6 2010A meta-analytic review of cognition, sport expertise Recent literature has demonstrated the usefulness of fitness and computer-based cognitive training as a means to enhance cognition and brain function. However, it is unclear whether the combination of fitness and cognitive training that results from years of extensive sport training also results in superior performance on tests of cognitive processes. In this study we examine, in a quantitative meta-analysis (k,=,20), the relationship between expertise in sports and laboratory-based measures of cognition. We found that athletes performed better on measures of processing speed and a category of varied attentional paradigms, and athletes from interceptive sport types and males showed the largest effects. Based on our results, more research should be done with higher-level cognitive tasks, such as tasks of executive function and more varied sub-domains of visual attention. Furthermore, future studies should incorporate more female athletes and use a diverse range of sport types and levels of expertise. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Probability of axillary node involvement in patients with tubular carcinoma of the breast,BRITISH JOURNAL OF SURGERY (NOW INCLUDES EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SURGERY), Issue 6 2001G. Papadatos Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency of axillary metastasis in women with tubular carcinoma (TC) of the breast. Methods: Women who underwent axillary dissection for TC in the Western Sydney area (1984,1995) were identified retrospectively through a search of computerized records. A centralized pathology review was performed and tumours were classified as pure tubular (22) or mixed tubular (nine), on the basis of the invasive component containing 90 per cent or more, or 75,90 per cent tubule formation respectively. A Medline search of the literature was undertaken to compile a collective series (20 studies with a total of 680 patients) to address the frequency of nodal involvement in TC. A quantitative meta-analysis was used to combine the results of these studies. Results: The overall frequency of nodal metastasis was five of 31 (16 per cent); one of 22 pure tubular and four of nine mixed tumours (P = 0·019). None of the tumours with a diameter of 10 mm or less (n = 16) had nodal metastasis compared with five of 15 larger tumours (P = 0·018). The meta-analysis of 680 women showed an overall frequency of nodal metastasis in TC of 13·8 (95 per cent confidence interval 9·3,18·3) per cent. The frequency of nodal involvement was 6·6 (1·7,11·4) per cent in pure TC (n = 244) and 25·0 (12·5,37·6) per cent in mixed TC (n = 149). Conclusion: A case may be made for observing the clinically negative axilla in women with a small TC (10 mm or less in diameter). © 2001 British Journal of Surgery Society Ltd [source] | ||||||||||