Dose-response meta-analysis serves an important role in investigating the dose-response relationship between independent variables (e.g. dosage) and disease outcomes. Traditional dose-response meta-analysis model is based on one independent variable to consider its own dose-specific effect on the outcome. However, for drug clinical trials, it generally involves two-dimensions of the treatment, such as dosage and course of treatment. These two-dimensions tend to be associated with each other. When neglecting their correlations, the results may be at risk of bias. Moreover, taking account of the "combined effect” of dosage and time on outcome has more clinical value. Therefore, in this article, based on traditional dose-response meta-analysis model, we propose a three-dimension model for dose-response meta-analysis which considers both the effect of dosage and time, to provide a solution for the above-mentioned problems in a traditional model.
Citation： XU Chang, LI Ling, JIA Pengli, QI Yana, ZHANG Chao, SUN Xin. Initial investigation of meta-analysis on drug dose-response relationship: a three-dimension model. Chinese Journal of Evidence-Based Medicine, 2017, 17(12): 1478-1481. doi: 10.7507/1672-2531.201704054 Copy