lfkindex: LFK Index Test for Asymmetry

In metasens: Statistical Methods for Sensitivity Analysis in Meta-Analysis

LFK Index Test for Asymmetry

Description

Implementation of the LFK index test proposed by Furuya-Kanamori et al. (2018) to evaluate bias in meta-analysis.

Usage

lfkindex(TE, seTE, data = NULL)

## S3 method for class 'lfkindex'
print(x, digits = 2, ...)

Arguments

TE	An object of class meta or estimated treatment effect in individual studies.
seTE	Standard error of estimated treatment effect (mandatory if TE not of class meta).
data	An optional data frame containing the study information.
x	An object of class lfkindex.
digits	Minimal number of significant digits, see print.default.
...	Additional arguments (ignored).

Value

An object of class "lfkindex" with corresponding print function. The object is a list containing the following components:

lfkindex	LFK index.
interpretation	Interpretation of value of LFK index.
abs.zscore	Absolute value of z-score.
N, MidRank, percentile, zscore	Quantities used to calculate LFK index.
TE, seTE	Estimated treatment effect, standard error.
version	Version of R package metasens used to create object.

Author(s)

Gerta Rücker [e-mail], Guido Schwarzer [e-mail]

References

Furuya-Kanamori L, Barendregt JJ, Doi SAR (2018): A new improved graphical and quantitative method for detecting bias in meta-analysis. International Journal of Evidence-Based Healthcare, 16, 195–203

Schwarzer G, Rücker G, Semaca C (2024): LFK index does not reliably detect small-study effects in meta-analysis: a simulation study. Research Synthesis Methods, Accepted for publication

See Also

doiplot, metabias, funnel.meta

Examples

# Example from Furuya-Kanamori et al. (2018)
#
pain <- data.frame(SMD = c(-4.270, -1.710, -0.580, -0.190, 0.000),
                   varSMD = c(0.158,  0.076,  0.018,  0.022, 0.040))

lfk.pain <- lfkindex(SMD, sqrt(varSMD), data = pain)
lfk.pain

doiplot(lfk.pain)

metasens documentation built on June 8, 2025, 11:49 a.m.