Tyler Black, MD Profile picture
Feb 12, 2022 8 tweets 3 min read Read on X
Reviewing a PUBLISHED PEER REVIEWED paper about anxiety prevalence during the pandemic in the UK, and the authors commented that because this funnel plot is symmetrical, publication bias is unlikely.

NONE OF THE STUDIES ARE IN THE FUNNEL!!!!!
Funnel plots are supposed to give you confidence that the estimate is not biased. Usually, it's to "show you if there is a bias around the mean."

In this case, the funnel plot serves to tell us to simply throw out the effect size.
As the error gets smaller, the certainty range is supposed to get smaller, that's the entire point of the funnel plot.

This is simply a metaanalysis of randomness.
i can't even :( ...

so few of the CONFIDENCE INTERVALS for any of the studies even overlap, let alone agree with the estimate.

this one is for "depression"
but don't worry, "Due to the high heterogeneity, random-effects models were used in the analysis of the findings."

sigh.

Are we ever going to have sound epidemiological publications in pandemic mental health research?
this is totally normal (they removed the "small outlier study" to make the above plot, despite it being a survey of 600, even though there are other surveys they didn't remove with 315 participants)
well at least its "symmetrical" - no publication bias!!!!!!!

how on earth does this stuff get published
for reference, this is what funnel plots are SUPPOSED to look like (both showing bias and not)

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More from @tylerblack32

Nov 30
Correcting revisionist history:
"COVID is not a problem for young people in the US"

Covid responsible (not "with", underlying cause) for 2% of all deaths <20. That's 1 out of every 50 deaths of all kids who die. #1 in infectious diseases, 5th in disease overall.

/1Image
COVID-19 deaths created 300,000 American orphans, 330,000 if we count "primary caregivers" and 380,000 if we count "secondary caregivers". That's a lot of childhood harm.

2x as common for Black kids
4x as common for Indigenous kids
1.6X as common for Hispanic kids

/2 Image
Our most vulnerable children, with medical illnesses, suffered the most during the pandemic. Children with heart disease, respiratory disease, neurologic diseases, and chromosomal abnormalities suffered more severe symptoms than did children without those conditions.

/3Image
Read 6 tweets
Nov 28
🏳️‍⚧️FAQ for posterity:

Why do you use pronouns in your bio?
Because it's an easy way to promote inclusivity & to increase awareness of gender expression. It costs me nothing, &because I work with kids who are establishing their identity it shows that I don't make assumptions.

/1
Is being transgender a mental illness?
Being transgender is not a mental illness. It is a natural variation of human phenotype, though some transgender individuals may experience distress, called gender dysphoria, which is addressed through appropriate care.

/2
Can a man be a woman?
Yes. Some individuals identify as a gender different from their assigned sex at birth.

"What is a woman?"
A woman is a female by identity. This can refer to biological sex identity or social gender identity, depending on the context.

/3
Read 14 tweets
Nov 24
🧵RFK Jr. is an antivax, AIDS-denying, absolutely antiscientific conspiracist.🧵

ANTIVAX:
“They get [vaccinated], that night they have a fever of 103, they go to sleep, and three months later their brain is gone... This is a Holocaust, what this is doing to our country.”

/1Image
ANTIVAX:
"I do believe that autism does come from vaccines"

Metaanalyses involving MILLIONS of children have confirmed there is no link. The lie started with another antivaxxer, disgraced fraudster Andrew Wakefield, who fabricated data.

/2Image
ANTIVAX:
"I've read all the science on autism and I can tell you, if you want to know... If it didn't come from the vaccines, then where did it come from?"

Autism primarily from combo of genetic factors & early brain development differences.

/3Image
Read 10 tweets
Nov 19
Battling Election Misinformation
Part 2: "The Mandate"

Contrary to media/republican pronouncements, the election of Donald Trump was one of the narrowest (by popular vote, +1.73%) in history, with only 7 elections since 1800 being narrower.

/1Image
In fact, if we look at the margin of victory when we include all eligible voters, Trump wins with 31.3% of the voting population, compared to Harris' 30.2% and 1% going to other candidates. 37.4% did not vote.

If we only include voters, Trump wins 50.03% to 49.97%

/2Image
When we look at the electoral college results, Trump won 58% of available electoral college votes. This would rank his election 41st out of 57 elections since 1800.

/3Image
Read 7 tweets
Nov 15
"[AIDS] is not being caused by a virus. It's not a virus... These people are dying because of 'poppers'... they were people who were part of a gay lifestyle... "

"This is not a viral disease, but it's a disease that is environmental."

- HHS Secretary Nominee RFK Jr

/1Image
Chemicals in water are causing trans kids: "A lot of the problems we see in kids... are coming from chemical exposures, including a lot of the sexual dysphoria that we’re seeing."

- HHS Secretary Nominee RFK Jr

/2Image
Wifi radiation causes autism, allergies, asthma, eczema: “I think it degrades your mitochondria and it opens your blood-brain barrier,”

- HHS Secretary Nominee RFK Jr

/3Image
Read 7 tweets
Nov 7
🧵Battling Antivax Disinfo🧵
Vaccination did NOT increase cancer deaths.

Here I took the 6 deadliest cancers (all 5 survival rates under 50%) in a highly vaccinated population (25-54), and we can see ZERO evidence of vaccine-related cancer deaths, all the way to May 2024.

/1Image
If i move ages to 55+, we see the same thing, and we are now looking at a lot of deaths from these extremely aggressive cancers, so this isn't some underpowered stuff here. There is NO evidence that deadly cancers have increased due to vaccination.

None.

/2Image
If we take all ages 5+ and look for until May 2024, we see no increase in these highly aggressive cancer deaths, or any cancer deaths.

/3Image
Read 8 tweets

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