JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association
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Review Meta Analysis Comparative Study
Stopping randomized trials early for benefit and estimation of treatment effects: systematic review and meta-regression analysis.
Theory and simulation suggest that randomized controlled trials (RCTs) stopped early for benefit (truncated RCTs) systematically overestimate treatment effects for the outcome that precipitated early stopping. ⋯ Truncated RCTs were associated with greater effect sizes than RCTs not stopped early. This difference was independent of the presence of statistical stopping rules and was greatest in smaller studies.
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Previous studies may have underestimated the contribution of health behaviors to social inequalities in mortality because health behaviors were assessed only at the baseline of the study. ⋯ In a civil service population in London, England, there was an association between socioeconomic position and mortality that was substantially accounted for by adjustment for health behaviors, particularly when the behaviors were assessed repeatedly.
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High resting blood pressure (BP) is among the best studied and established risk factors for cardiovascular disease. However, little is known about the relationship between BP under acute stress, such as in acute chest pain, and subsequent mortality. ⋯ Among patients admitted to the ICU for chest pain, there is an inverse association between admission supine systolic BP and 1-year mortality rate.
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Comment Letter Historical Article
Assessment of atherosclerosis in Egyptian mummies.