BACKGROUND: Case-control studies are vulnerable to selection and information biases which may generate misleading findings. AIMS: To assess the quality of methodological reporting of case-control studies published in general psychiatric journals. METHOD: All the case-control studies published over a 2-year period in the six general psychiatric journals with impact factors of more than 3 were assessed by a group of psychiatrists with training in epidemiology using a structured assessment devised for the purpose. The measured study quality was compared across type of exposure and journal. RESULTS: The reporting of methods in the 408 identified papers was generally poor, with basic information about recruitment of participants often absent. Reduction of selection bias was described best in the "pencil and paper" studies and worst in the genetic studies. Neuroimaging studies reported the most safeguards against information bias. Measurement of exposure was reported least well in studies determining the exposure with a biological test. CONCLUSIONS: Poor reporting of recruitment strategies threatens the validity of reported results and reduces the generalisability of studies.
BACKGROUND: Case-control studies are vulnerable to selection and information biases which may generate misleading findings. AIMS: To assess the quality of methodological reporting of case-control studies published in general psychiatric journals. METHOD: All the case-control studies published over a 2-year period in the six general psychiatric journals with impact factors of more than 3 were assessed by a group of psychiatrists with training in epidemiology using a structured assessment devised for the purpose. The measured study quality was compared across type of exposure and journal. RESULTS: The reporting of methods in the 408 identified papers was generally poor, with basic information about recruitment of participants often absent. Reduction of selection bias was described best in the "pencil and paper" studies and worst in the genetic studies. Neuroimaging studies reported the most safeguards against information bias. Measurement of exposure was reported least well in studies determining the exposure with a biological test. CONCLUSIONS: Poor reporting of recruitment strategies threatens the validity of reported results and reduces the generalisability of studies.
Authors: Erik von Elm; Douglas G Altman; Matthias Egger; Stuart J Pocock; Peter C Gøtzsche; Jan P Vandenbroucke Journal: Bull World Health Organ Date: 2007-11 Impact factor: 9.408
Authors: Badr Aljasir; John P A Ioannidis; Alex Yurkiewich; David Moher; Julian P T Higgins; Paul Arora; Julian Little Journal: Hum Genet Date: 2012-10-25 Impact factor: 4.132
Authors: Julian Little; Julian P T Higgins; John P A Ioannidis; David Moher; France Gagnon; Erik von Elm; Muin J Khoury; Barbara Cohen; George Davey-Smith; Jeremy Grimshaw; Paul Scheet; Marta Gwinn; Robin E Williamson; Guang Yong Zou; Kim Hutchings; Candice Y Johnson; Valerie Tait; Miriam Wiens; Jean Golding; Cornelia van Duijn; John McLaughlin; Andrew Paterson; George Wells; Isabel Fortier; Matthew Freedman; Maja Zecevic; Richard King; Claire Infante-Rivard; Alex Stewart; Nick Birkett Journal: Hum Genet Date: 2009-02-01 Impact factor: 4.132
Authors: Julian Little; Julian P T Higgins; John P A Ioannidis; David Moher; France Gagnon; Erik von Elm; Muin J Khoury; Barbara Cohen; George Davey-Smith; Jeremy Grimshaw; Paul Scheet; Marta Gwinn; Robin E Williamson; Guang Yong Zou; Kim Hutchings; Candice Y Johnson; Valerie Tait; Miriam Wiens; Jean Golding; Cornelia van Duijn; John McLaughlin; Andrew Paterson; George Wells; Isabel Fortier; Matthew Freedman; Maja Zecevic; Richard King; Claire Infante-Rivard; Alex Stewart; Nick Birkett Journal: PLoS Med Date: 2009-02-03 Impact factor: 11.069
Authors: Julian Little; Julian P T Higgins; John P A Ioannidis; David Moher; France Gagnon; Erik von Elm; Muin J Khoury; Barbara Cohen; George Davey-Smith; Jeremy Grimshaw; Paul Scheet; Marta Gwinn; Robin E Williamson; Guang Yong Zou; Kim Hutchings; Candice Y Johnson; Valerie Tait; Miriam Wiens; Jean Golding; Cornelia van Duijn; John McLaughlin; Andrew Paterson; George Wells; Isabel Fortier; Matthew Freedman; Maja Zecevic; Richard King; Claire Infante-Rivard; Alex Stewart; Nick Birkett Journal: Eur J Clin Invest Date: 2009-04 Impact factor: 4.686
Authors: Julian Little; Julian P T Higgins; John P A Ioannidis; David Moher; France Gagnon; Erik von Elm; Muin J Khoury; Barbara Cohen; George Davey-Smith; Jeremy Grimshaw; Paul Scheet; Marta Gwinn; Robin E Williamson; Guang Yong Zou; Kim Hutchings; Candice Y Johnson; Valerie Tait; Miriam Wiens; Jean Golding; Cornelia van Duijn; John McLaughlin; Andrew Paterson; George Wells; Isabel Fortier; Matthew Freedman; Maja Zecevic; Richard King; Claire Infante-Rivard; Alex Stewart; Nick Birkett Journal: Eur J Epidemiol Date: 2009-02-03 Impact factor: 8.082