A Guide to Estimating the Reference Range From a Meta-Analysis Using Aggregate or Individual Participant Data.

ABSTRACT: Clinicians frequently must decide whether a patient's measurement reflects that of a healthy "normal" individual. Thus, the reference range is defined as the interval in which some proportion (frequently 95%) of measurements from a healthy population is expected to fall. One can estimate it from a single study or preferably from a meta-analysis of multiple studies to increase generalizability. This range differs from the confidence interval for the pooled mean and the prediction interval for a new study mean in a meta-analysis, which do not capture natural variation across healthy individuals. Methods for estimating the reference range from a meta-analysis of aggregate data that incorporates both within- and between-study variations were recently proposed. In this guide, we present 3 appro

SUBMITTER: Siegel L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9431652 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature