Biostatistics Journal Club: Reconciling Conflicting Results from Target Trials of Bariatric Surgery

A large body of observational evidence exists to suggest that bariatric surgery is associated with reduction in risk for a wide range of outcomes, including cardiovascular disease (CVD). A recent study, however, suggested that much of that prior work is flawed in that it suffers from oversimplified definitions of the intervention, eligibility criteria, and follow-up. Furthermore, using the target trial emulation framework and data from the Veterans Administration (VA), results are presented as providing no evidence of benefit regarding CVD. In this talk, Sebastien Haneuse, PhD, will  present new results using data from Kaiser Permanente and an emulated trial that mimics the methods employed in the VA data which suggest benefit. He will also discuss possible mechanisms by which the discrepant results can be reconciled and conclude with an open discussion of what standards should be used when work is labeled as being flawed.

Speaker:

Sebastien Haneuse, PhD, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health