{"doi":"10.1093/ije/dyx138","title":"Overlapping network meta-analyses on the same topic: survey of published studies","abstract":"<h4>Background</h4>To assess how common it is for a published network meta-analysis (NMA) to have other published overlapping NMAs, and to evaluate these overlaps.<h4>Methods</h4>A total of 88 NMAs of randomized controlled trials evaluating the comparative effectiveness of health interventions were randomly selected. For each of these, we searched for NMAs on the same topic. A random sample of 40 pairs (an index NMA and one of its overlapping NMAs) was selected to assess the overlap in terms of nodes, treatments and references. The topic with the largest number of overlapping NMAs was described in depth.<h4>Results</h4>In all, 68 of the 88 index NMAs had at least one overlapping NMA: 77% [95% confidence interval (CI), 69-86%]. We identified 515 pairs of overlapping NMAs. Among the 40 randomly selected pairs, 73% (95% CI, 58-88%) of nodes, 79% (95% CI, 72-86%) of treatments and 48% (95% CI, 37-59%) of references included in the index NMAs were also found in the respective overlapping NMAs. Efficacy of biologics in rheumatoid arthritis had the largest number of overlapping NMAs, with 28 NMAs published between 2003 and 2014. Differences in selection and definition of nodes of treatments resulted in different network geometries. There were also differences in both the direction and the statistical significance of effects.<h4>Conclusions</h4>Published NMAs exhibit extensive overlap and potential redundancy. Erratic retrieval of eligible trials, and lack of consensus on the range of interventions to be considered and how they might be merged or split in different nodes, may cause confusion.","journal":"International Journal of Epidemiology","year":2017,"id":12180,"datarank":2.6972491360506616,"base_score":4.204692619390966,"endowment":4.204692619390966,"self_citation_contribution":0.6307038929086449,"citation_network_contribution":2.066545243142017,"self_endowment_contribution":0.6307038929086449,"citer_contribution":2.066545243142017,"corpus_percentile":66.72091131000813,"corpus_rank":410,"citation_count":74,"citer_count":48,"citers_with_citation_signal":38,"citers_with_endowment":38,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"is_dataset":true,"is_dataset_confidence":0.6384,"is_oa":true,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"has_version_chain":false,"published_date":"2017-08-03","fair_score":23.3333,"fair_percentile":2.550571679859279,"algorithm_id":"datarank_citation_only_1hop_v6","ranking_scope":"data_only","authors":[{"id":7587,"name":"Florian Naudet","orcid":"0000-0003-3760-3801","position":3,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":6408,"name":"Ewoud Schuit","orcid":"0000-0002-9548-3214","position":4,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":148,"name":"John P. A. Ioannidis","orcid":"0000-0003-3118-6859","position":5,"is_corresponding":false}],"reference_count":30,"raw_metadata":{"citation_network_status":"fetched"},"created_at":"2026-03-01T18:20:47.508186Z","pmid":null,"pmcid":null,"fwci":null,"citation_percentile":null,"influential_citations":0,"oa_status":null,"license":null,"views":0,"total_file_size_bytes":0,"version_count":0,"fair_f":32.0,"fair_a":48.0,"fair_i":0.0,"fair_r":13.3333,"fair_zscore":-1.979,"fair_rationale":{"fair_score":23.33,"has_llm":true,"dimensions":{"F":{"name":"Findable","score":32.0,"criteria":[{"key":"f_has_doi","label":"Has a persistent DOI","kind":"deterministic","weight":1.0,"fraction":1.0,"signal":"DOI present","rationale":null},{"key":"f_repository_presence","label":"Indexed in repositories / literature DBs","kind":"deterministic","weight":1.0,"fraction":0.0,"signal":"datacite=0, pmcid=False, pmid=False","rationale":null},{"key":"f_persistent_ids","label":"Resolvable scholarly identifiers (OpenAlex)","kind":"deterministic","weight":0.5,"fraction":0.0,"signal":"no OpenAlex id","rationale":null},{"key":"f_metadata_richness","label":"Rich, machine-readable metadata","kind":"llm","weight":1.0,"fraction":0.0,"signal":null,"rationale":"The paper text provides no metadata, technical metadata, or machine-readable descriptions of the data or code."}]},"A":{"name":"Accessible","score":48.0,"criteria":[{"key":"a_open_access","label":"Open Access / files deposited","kind":"deterministic","weight":1.5,"fraction":1.0,"signal":"Open Access","rationale":null},{"key":"a_retrievable","label":"Free full text retrievable","kind":"deterministic","weight":1.0,"fraction":0.0,"signal":"0 OA location(s)","rationale":null},{"key":"a_access_protocol","label":"Clear data/code access protocol","kind":"llm","weight":1.0,"fraction":0.0,"signal":null,"rationale":"No protocol for accessing underlying data or code (e.g., repository link, contact, or supplementary material) is stated."}]},"I":{"name":"Interoperable","score":0.0,"criteria":[{"key":"i_linked_data","label":"Linked datasets / DataCite relations","kind":"deterministic","weight":1.0,"fraction":0.0,"signal":"linked_datasets=0, datacite=0","rationale":null},{"key":"i_standard_ids","label":"References data via standard accessions","kind":"deterministic","weight":1.0,"fraction":0.0,"signal":"accessions=0, trials=0","rationale":null},{"key":"i_standards","label":"Standard formats, vocabularies & identifiers","kind":"llm","weight":1.0,"fraction":0.0,"signal":null,"rationale":"No use of standard formats, vocabularies, or persistent identifiers (e.g., for treatments, studies, or data elements) is mentioned."}]},"R":{"name":"Reusable","score":13.33,"criteria":[{"key":"r_license","label":"Clear, open reuse license","kind":"deterministic","weight":1.5,"fraction":0.0,"signal":"no license","rationale":null},{"key":"r_downloads","label":"Demonstrated reuse (downloads)","kind":"deterministic","weight":0.5,"fraction":0.0,"signal":"downloads=0","rationale":null},{"key":"r_version","label":"Versioned / maintained","kind":"deterministic","weight":0.5,"fraction":0.0,"signal":"no version chain","rationale":null},{"key":"r_dataset","label":"Classified as a data resource","kind":"deterministic","weight":0.5,"fraction":1.0,"signal":"is_dataset","rationale":null},{"key":"r_reusability","label":"Data-availability statement, license & reproducibility","kind":"llm","weight":2.0,"fraction":0.0,"signal":null,"rationale":"No data-availability statement, license, or reproducibility information (e.g., code, raw data, or detailed methods) is provided."}]}},"suggestions":["Include a data-availability statement that specifies where the search results and extracted data (e.g., list of NMAs, nodes, treatments) can be accessed.","Deposit the complete set of references and extracted data in a public repository (e.g., Zenodo, Figshare) with a persistent identifier and open license.","Provide machine-readable tables (e.g., CSV, JSON) of the 515 pairs and the 40 randomly selected pairs with standard identifiers for treatments and references.","Add a brief code or workflow description (e.g., R or Python scripts) to allow others to reproduce the selection and analysis steps.","Use standard vocabularies for treatment names and outcome definitions to improve interoperability with other meta-analyses."],"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash","agent_version":"fair_agent_v2","fulltext_source":"abstract_only"},"fair_model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash","fair_agent_version":"fair_agent_v2","fair_fulltext_source":"abstract_only","fair_has_llm":true,"fair_computed_at":"2026-06-18T00:41:34.670682Z","clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"db_accessions":[],"linked_datasets":[],"topics":[]}