Dose-response meta-analysis, as a subset of meta-analysis, plays an important role in dealing with the relationship between exposure level and risk of diseases. Traditional models limited in linear regression between the independent variables and the dependent variable. With the development of methodology and functional model, Nonlinear regression method was applied to dose-response meta-analysis, such as restricted cubic spline regression, quadratic B-spline regression. However, in these methods, the term and order of the independent variables have been assigned that may not suit for any trend distribution and it may lead to over fitting. Flexible fraction polynomial regression is a good method to solve this problem, which modelling a flexible fraction polynomial and choosing the best fitting model by using the likelihood-ratio test for a more accurate evaluation. In this article, we will discuss how to conduct a dose-response meta-analysis by flexible fraction polynomial.
Citation： XUChang, KWONGJoey S. W, ZHANGChao, NIUYu-Ming. How to Conduct Dose-response Meta-analysis: the Application of Flexible Polynomial Function. Chinese Journal of Evidence-Based Medicine, 2016, 16(2): 219-222. doi: 10.7507/1672-2531.20160034 Copy