A Robust Bayesian Model to Quantify and Adjust for Study Quality and Conflict of Interest in Meta-Analyses
Abstract
Meta-analyses are vital for synthesizing evidence in medical research, but conflicts of interest can introduce research bias, undermining the reliability of the synthesized findings. This paper proposes a new robust Bayesian meta-analysis model. The model inflates uncertainty of low-quality studies and incorporates a bias term for studies subject to conflicts of interest. Using a random-effects model and sensitivity analysis with bounded probabilities, the model enables robust adjustments for conflicts of interest in meta-analytic contexts. A case study on antidepressant trials illustrates the potential application of the model.
Cite
Text
Troffaes et al. "A Robust Bayesian Model to Quantify and Adjust for Study Quality and Conflict of Interest in Meta-Analyses." Proceedings of the Fourteenth International Symposium on Imprecise Probabilities: Theories and Applications, 2025.Markdown
[Troffaes et al. "A Robust Bayesian Model to Quantify and Adjust for Study Quality and Conflict of Interest in Meta-Analyses." Proceedings of the Fourteenth International Symposium on Imprecise Probabilities: Theories and Applications, 2025.](https://mlanthology.org/isipta/2025/troffaes2025isipta-robust/)BibTeX
@inproceedings{troffaes2025isipta-robust,
title = {{A Robust Bayesian Model to Quantify and Adjust for Study Quality and Conflict of Interest in Meta-Analyses}},
author = {Troffaes, Matthias C. M. and Casini, Lorenzo and Landes, Jürgen and Sahlin, Ullrika},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the Fourteenth International Symposium on Imprecise Probabilities: Theories and Applications},
year = {2025},
pages = {273-284},
volume = {290},
url = {https://mlanthology.org/isipta/2025/troffaes2025isipta-robust/}
}