How likely is unmeasured confounding to explain meta-analysis-derived associations between alcohol, other substances, and mood-related conditions with HIV risk behaviors?

ABSTRACT:

Background

HIV transmission and disease progression may be driven by associations HIV risk behaviors have with a constellation of alcohol, other substance, and mood-related conditions (CASM). However, observational study-based measures of these associations are often prone to unmeasured confounding. While meta-analysis offers a systematic approach to summarize effect sizes across studies, the validity of these estimates can be compromised if similar biases exist across studies. Our analysis assesses the likelihood that unmeasured confounding explains meta-analysis-derived measures of association between CASM and HIV risk behaviors, and provides bias-adjusted estimates.

Methods

We first conducted systematic reviews and meta-analyses to assess associations between CASM conditi

SUBMITTER: Manandhar-Sasaki P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11887180 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature