Table 6

Reporting characteristics for the analysis of interacting environmental factors for randomly selected HuGE articles (2001–2003)

Reporting characteristic
Count*
Percent

Number of environmental factors assessed in gene-environment interactions


     1
34
70.8
     2
10
20.8
     >= 3
4
8.4
Potential for misclassification of the environmental factors


     No
7
14.6
     Unclear
4
8.3
     Yes
37
77.1
Provided a description of possible error in the measurement of the environmental factor


     No
45
93.8
     Yes
3
6.2
Use of dose-depending models


     No
45
93.8
     Yes
3
6.2
Reported that the evaluation of the genetic test was blind to the environmental factor


     Blind
0
0.0
     Unclear
48
100.0
Reported that the evaluation of the environmental factor was blind to the genetic test


     Blind
0
0.0
     Unclear
48
100.0
If gene-environmental interactions were assessed, was risk quantified as an odds ratio or risk ratio


     No
22
45.8
     Yes
26
54.2
If gene-environmental interactions were assessed, was risk quantified as an absolute difference


     No
48
100.0
     Yes
0
0.0
If gene-environmental interactions were assessed, was risk quantified as an attributable fraction


     No
48
100.0
     Yes
0
0.0
Claim of a statistically significant gene-environmental interaction


     No
34
70.8
     Yes
14
29.2

* limited to the 48 studies that addressed at least 1 environmental factor

Yesupriya et al. BMC Medical Research Methodology 2008 8:31   doi:10.1186/1471-2288-8-31