Systematic metareview of prediction studies demonstrates stable trends in bias and low PROBAST inter-rater agreement

Liselotte F.S. Langenhuijsen, Roemer J. Janse, Esmee Venema, David M. Kent, Merel van Diepen, Friedo W. Dekker, Ewout W. Steyerberg, Ype de Jong*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

11 Citations (Web of Science)
41 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Objectives: To (1) explore trends of risk of bias (ROB) in prediction research over time following key methodological publications, using the Prediction model Risk Of Bias ASsessment Tool (PROBAST) and (2) assess the inter-rater agreement of the PROBAST. Study Design and Setting: PubMed and Web of Science were searched for reviews with extractable PROBAST scores on domain and signaling question (SQ) level. ROB trends were visually correlated with yearly citations of key publications. Inter-rater agreement was assessed using Cohen's Kappa. Results: One hundred and thirty nine systematic reviews were included, of which 85 reviews (containing 2,477 single studies) on domain level and 54 reviews (containing 2,458 single studies) on SQ level. High ROB was prevalent, especially in the Analysis domain, and overall trends of ROB remained relatively stable over time. The inter-rater agreement was low, both on domain (Kappa 0.04–0.26) and SQ level (Kappa −0.14 to 0.49). Conclusion: Prediction model studies are at high ROB and time trends in ROB as assessed with the PROBAST remain relatively stable. These results might be explained by key publications having no influence on ROB or recency of key publications. Moreover, the trend may suffer from the low inter-rater agreement and ceiling effect of the PROBAST. The inter-rater agreement could potentially be improved by altering the PROBAST or providing training on how to apply the PROBAST.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)159-173
Number of pages15
JournalJournal of Clinical Epidemiology
Volume159
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2023

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Funding: The work on this study by R.J.J. and M.v.D. was supported by a grant from the Dutch Kidney Foundation ( 20OK016 ).

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Authors

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Systematic metareview of prediction studies demonstrates stable trends in bias and low PROBAST inter-rater agreement'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this