Chinese Journal of Pharmacovigilance ›› 2023, Vol. 20 ›› Issue (6): 646-650.
DOI: 10.19803/j.1672-8629.20230113

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Overlap weighting in detection of adverse drug reaction signals: a simulated study

WEI Lianhui1, ZHANG Pengpeng2, LIU Yongmei2, GUO Xiaojing1, XU Jinfang1, CHEN Xiao1, CHEN Chenxin1, YE Xiaofei1,*   

  1. 1Department of Health Statistics, Naval Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China;
    2Tianjin Rehabilitation Center of Joint Logistic Support Force, Tianjin 300074, China
  • Received:2023-02-27 Online:2023-06-15 Published:2023-06-15

Abstract: Objective To explore the effect of overlap weighting in equalizing confounding factors during detection of adverse drug reaction signals via a simulated study. Methods Point estimates, standard errors, bias, mean square errors, and 95% confidence interval coverage rate were used to evaluate the accuracy and stability of effect estimation of four methods (propensity score stratification, propensity score matching, inverse probability weighting, and overlap weighting) at four different levels of overlap between groups. Results In the simulated scenario of this study, overlap weighting yielded the most accurate and stable results of effect estimation, while the accuracy and stability of the other three methods became progressively worse as the degree of overlap decreased, and the inverse probability weighting led to the most significant difference. Conclusion Overlap weighting can be an option for equalizing confounding factors during detection of signals of adverse drug reactions.

Key words: adverse drug reaction, signal detection, confounding factors, overlap weighting, propensity score stratification, propensity score matching, inverse probability weighting

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