[R-meta] Subgroup analysis with RVE

[Ioana Cristea]

Dear all
I am running a meta-analysis with robust variance estimation (RVE) and my
focus is on a categorical variable (a risk of bias domain variable, coded
dichotomously, high vs low, in the database "0" for low risk and "1" for
high risk). I estimated effects in the high and low subgroup separately,
each in an intercept only model. I also ran the RVE model estimating the
between-study effect of covariates, including my predictor (which is a
between study variable) as a covariate (it was not significant). I think a
big problem is that the two subgroups delineated by the categorical
variable are very uneven in terms of the information contained (one has 45
effect sizes, one 13) and in my view a test of significance for differences
between them is not useful.
One of my co-authors would also like us to run a subgroup analysis. I am
not sure how to do that, if it is possible with RVE and if it adds anything
to the model estimating between-study covariates, which I already ran.
Thank you!
Ioana

-- 
Ioana-Alina Cristea, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences
University of Pavia, Piazza Botta 11, 27100 Pavia, Italy

Research affiliate
METRICS (Meta-research Innovation Center at Stanford)
Stanford University, California, USA
Editorial Advisory Board Lancet Psychiatry
<https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/home>
International Editorial Board BJPsych Open
<https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/bjpsych-open>

ORCid: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9854-7076
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Researchgate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ioana_Cristea
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