March 3, 2015
Dr. Ellen Chang and coauthors recently published a paper in the American Journal of Epidemiology entitled "Dose-Response Relationship Between Serum 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-Dioxin and Diabetes Mellitus: A Meta-Analysis."
The authors evaluated studies published through May 2014 in which investigators assessed the dose-response relationship between serum levels of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) and the occurrence of diabetes mellitus (DM), including an investigation of the extent and sources of inter-study heterogeneity. In view of existing knowledge gaps, the authors conducted a meta-analysis with two main objectives. The first objective was to systematically evaluate the evidence regarding the dose response relationship between blood levels of TCDD and DM occurrence (i.e., prevalence and/or incidence). The second objective was to examine agreement across studies and to identify study characteristics or specific studies that might act as sources of heterogeneity.
Read the article here.