Medical Meta-Analysis Article Interpretation Assistance
Budget: £20 – £250 GBP
I'm seeking help interpreting the results of a medical journal article, focusing on a few specific data points in a Cochrane meta-analysis on treating patients with chronic kidney disease with statins, and what is concluded from it.
This is the article: https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD007784.pub3/full#CD007784-sec-0091
The specific question I have is: In Table 1 -- Summary of Findings, in the Absolute Effects column, regarding Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events (MACE), absolute effects, over 46 months of follow-up, there are 6 anticipated events per thousand patients in the placebo group and between 4 and 5 in the statin group per thousand patients. A difference of approximately 1.5 events per thousand patients treated.
In the Implications for Practice paragraph, it's stated that "treating 1000 people with CKD not on dialysis for one year may prevent 32 major cardiovascular events..."
I would like to know, how, given that there are only 1.5 fewer major CV events compared to placebo per thousand people treated with statins from the clinical trial meta-analysis data, it can be concluded that treating 1000 people with statins can prevent major 32 major CV events.
Ideal Skills and Experience:
- Expertise in medical research and meta-analysis
- Strong background in statistics
- Experience in teaching or explaining medical content to non-experts.
This is the article: https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD007784.pub3/full#CD007784-sec-0091
The specific question I have is: In Table 1 -- Summary of Findings, in the Absolute Effects column, regarding Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events (MACE), absolute effects, over 46 months of follow-up, there are 6 anticipated events per thousand patients in the placebo group and between 4 and 5 in the statin group per thousand patients. A difference of approximately 1.5 events per thousand patients treated.
In the Implications for Practice paragraph, it's stated that "treating 1000 people with CKD not on dialysis for one year may prevent 32 major cardiovascular events..."
I would like to know, how, given that there are only 1.5 fewer major CV events compared to placebo per thousand people treated with statins from the clinical trial meta-analysis data, it can be concluded that treating 1000 people with statins can prevent major 32 major CV events.
Ideal Skills and Experience:
- Expertise in medical research and meta-analysis
- Strong background in statistics
- Experience in teaching or explaining medical content to non-experts.