Table 3.
Time from completion to publication: multivariable Cox regression analyses
| Hazard ratio (95 % CI)a | p-value | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Model 1: Sensitivity (n = 464) | |||
| Sensitivity (logit transformed) | 1.06 (1.02–1.11) | 0.007 | |
| Year of publication (per 5 years) | 0.98 (0.88–1.08) | 0.660 | |
| Journal impact factor | |||
| ≥4 | 1.24 (0.99–1.55) | 0.064 | |
| <4 or not available | 1 | ||
| Number of authors | 0.99 (0.96–1.02) | 0.550 | |
| Continent of first author | |||
| Europe, North America or Oceania | 0.69 (0.55–0.87) | 0.002 | |
| Africa, Asia or South America | 1 | ||
| Type of test | |||
| Imaging | 1.15 (0.88–1.50) | 0.300 | |
| Other | 1 | ||
| Type of data collection | |||
| Prospective | 1.19 (0.96–1.48) | 0.120 | |
| Retrospective or not reported | 1 | ||
| Study duration (per year)b | 1.00 (0.98–1.03) | 0.820 | |
| Number of participants (per 1000) | 1.01 (0.99–1.03) | 0.430 | |
| Model 2: Specificity (n = 458) | |||
| Specificity (logit transformed) | 1.09 (1.04–1.14) | <0.001 | |
| Year of publication (per 5 years) | 1.01 (0.91–1.11) | 0.910 | |
| Journal impact factor | |||
| ≥4 | 1.34 (1.07–1.67) | 0.011 | |
| <4 or not available | 1 | ||
| Number of authors | 0.99 (0.96–1.02) | 0.360 | |
| Continent of first author | |||
| Europe, North America or Oceania | 0.72 (0.57–0.90) | 0.003 | |
| Africa, Asia or South America | 1 | ||
| Type of test | |||
| Imaging | 1.15 (0.90–1.46) | 0.260 | |
| Other | 1 | ||
| Type of data collection | |||
| Prospective | 1.23 (1.00–1.52) | 0.050 | |
| Retrospective or not reported | 1 | ||
| Study duration (per year)b | 1.00 (0.98–1.02) | 0.980 | |
| Number of participants (per 1000) | 1.01 (0.99–1.03) | 0.540 | |
| Model 3: Youden’s index (n = 454) | |||
| Youden’s index (logit transformed)g | 1.09 (1.03–1.14) | 0.001 | |
| Year of publication (per 5 years) | 0.98 (0.89–1.09) | 0.730 | |
| Journal impact factor | |||
| ≥4 | 1.28 (1.02–1.61) | 0.031 | |
| <4 or not available | 1 | ||
| Number of authors | 0.98 (0.95–1.01) | 0.280 | |
| Continent of first author | |||
| Europe, North America or Oceania | 0.69 (0.55–0.87) | 0.002 | |
| Africa, Asia or South America | 1 | ||
| Type of test | |||
| Imaging | 1.16 (0.90–1.51) | 0.250 | |
| Other | 1 | ||
| Type of data collection | |||
| Prospective | 1.24 (1.00–1.54) | 0.052 | |
| Retrospective or not reported | 1 | ||
| Study duration (per year)b | 1.00 (0.98–1.02) | 0.910 | |
| Number of participants (per 1000) | 1.01 (0.99–1.03) | 0.460 | |
aFrailty term added per meta-analysis to account for systematic differences in time from completion to publication between meta-analyses; variance of frailty terms was: model 1 = 0.103; model 2 = 0.064; model 3 = 0.094
bOne study was excluded from the Cox regression analysis because of a missing study duration