Identifying gaps for research prioritisation: Global burden of external causes of injury as reflected in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews

Chante Karimkhani; Ritika Trikha; Baran Aksut; Trevor Jones; Lindsay N Boyers; Megan Schlichte; Hannah Pederson; Tyler Okland; Carolyn DiGuiseppi; Mona Nasser; Mohsen Naghavi; Theo Vos; Sze Lin Yoong; Luke Wolfenden; Christopher J L Murray; Robert P Dellavalle

doi:10.1016/j.injury.2015.12.019

Identifying gaps for research prioritisation: Global burden of external causes of injury as reflected in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews

Injury. 2016 May;47(5):1151-7. doi: 10.1016/j.injury.2015.12.019. Epub 2016 Jan 12.

Authors

Chante Karimkhani¹, Ritika Trikha², Baran Aksut³, Trevor Jones⁴, Lindsay N Boyers⁵, Megan Schlichte⁶, Hannah Pederson⁷, Tyler Okland⁷, Carolyn DiGuiseppi⁸, Mona Nasser⁹, Mohsen Naghavi¹⁰, Theo Vos¹⁰, Sze Lin Yoong¹¹, Luke Wolfenden¹¹, Christopher J L Murray¹⁰, Robert P Dellavalle¹²

Affiliations

¹ Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY, USA.
² Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, IL, USA.
³ Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.
⁴ University of Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson, AZ, USA.
⁵ Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington DC, USA.
⁶ Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
⁷ University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, USA.
⁸ Department of Epidemiology, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, CO, USA.
⁹ Peninsula Dental School, Plymouth University, Plymouth, UK.
¹⁰ Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
¹¹ Hunter New England Population Health, NSW, Australia; The University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia.
¹² Department of Epidemiology, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, CO, USA; Department of Dermatology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, CO, USA; Department of Dermatology, Denver Veterans Administration Hospital, CO, USA. Electronic address: robert.dellavalle@ucdenver.edu.

Abstract

Importance: Burden of disease should impact research prioritisation.

Objective: To analyse the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR) and determine whether systematic reviews and protocols accurately represent disease burden, as measured by disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2010 Study.

Methods: Two investigators collected GBD disability metrics for 12 external causes of injury in the GBD 2010 Study. These external causes were then assessed for systematic review and protocol representation in CDSR. Data was collected during the month of April 2015. There were no study participants aside from the researchers. Percentage of total 2010 DALYs, 2010 DALY rank, and median DALY percent change from 1990 to 2010 of the 12 external causes of injury were compared with CDSR representation of systematic reviews and protocols. Data were analysed for correlation using Spearman rank correlation.

Results: Eleven of the 12 causes were represented by at least one systematic review or protocol in CDSR; the category collective violence and legal intervention had no representation in CDSR. Correlation testing revealed a strong positive correlation that was statistically significant. Representation of road injury; interpersonal violence; fire, heat, and hot substances; mechanical forces; poisonings, adverse effect of medical treatment, and animal contact was well aligned with respect to DALY. Representation of falls was greater compared to DALY, while self-harm, exposure to forces of nature, and other transport injury representation was lower compared to DALY.

Conclusions and relevance: CDSR representation of external causes of injury strongly correlates with disease burden. The number of systematic reviews and protocols was well aligned for seven out of 12 causes of injury. These results provide high-quality and transparent data that may guide future prioritisation decisions.

Keywords: Burden of disease; Cochrane; DALY; Disability; Epidemiology; Injury; Systematic review; Trauma.

Published by Elsevier Ltd.

MeSH terms

Cost of Illness
Databases, Factual*
Disabled Persons / psychology
Disabled Persons / statistics & numerical data
Female
Humans
Male
Quality-Adjusted Life Years
Research*
Review Literature as Topic*
Wounds and Injuries / economics
Wounds and Injuries / epidemiology
Wounds and Injuries / etiology*
Wounds and Injuries / psychology