Mastering meta-regression

In a meta-analysis, it is often important to assess how different variables affect the overall meta-analysis results. For example, sometimes we want to assess how age affects the effect of therapy or is a specific biomarker associated with the overall results that we see on the forest plot. Instead of just summarizing the results into the overall pooled results, we will now consider a specific variable called the moderator to see whether any specific moderators affect the results. In meta-regression, a moderator is a study-level variable that influences the overall effect variability. One such example is age. Age can influence how a treatment works across different studies, if the patients differ in age from study to study. When including moderators, we can explain the heterogeneity and sensitivity to different variables in the meta-analysis, identifying factors that may affect the overall outcomes. Meta-regression is a technique used for this purpose, and...