Matthias Egger

Matthias Egger is professor of epidemiology and public health at the University of Bern in Switzerland, as well as professor of clinical epidemiology at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom.[1]

Education and career

Egger completed his clinical training at the University of Bern and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. He joined the faculty of the University of Bern in 2002, and also became a professor at the University of Bristol that year.[1]

Scientific work

In 1997, Egger published a paper describing a method for detecting bias in meta-analyses by analyzing funnel plots.[2] This paper has been cited more than 13,000 times on Google Scholar as of May 2015.[3]

In 2005, Egger published a study comparing 110 trials of homeopathy with 110 trials of conventional medicine in the Lancet. It found that there was strong evidence that conventional medicine was more effective than placebo, but only weak evidence that homeopathy was.[4] Egger told WebMD that in this study, "The effect of homeopathy disappears if you look only at large, good trials; whereas the conventional medicines' effect is still there."[5]

Egger has also published research on a wide variety of other medical topics, such as the demographics of people who choose assisted suicide,[6] the association between exposure to aircraft noise and heart attacks,[7] and the effectiveness of pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccines.[8]

References

  1. 1 2 "Matthias Egger". University of Bern. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  2. ↑ Egger, M.; Smith, G. D.; Schneider, M.; Minder, C. (13 September 1997). "Bias in meta-analysis detected by a simple, graphical test". BMJ 315 (7109): 629–634. doi:10.1136/bmj.315.7109.629. PMC 2127453. PMID 9310563.
  3. ↑ "Matthias Egger". Google Scholar. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  4. ↑ Shang, A; Huwiler-Müntener, K; Nartey, L; Jüni, P; Dörig, S; Sterne, JA; Pewsner, D; Egger, M (August 27, 2005). "Are the clinical effects of homoeopathy placebo effects? Comparative study of placebo-controlled trials of homoeopathy and allopathy.". Lancet 366 (9487): 726–32. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(05)67177-2. PMID 16125589.
  5. ↑ WebMD (26 August 2005). "Study: Homeopathy Drugs Don't Work". Fox News. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  6. ↑ Smyth, Chris (19 February 2014). "Why healthy people choose to end their lives in a suicide clinic". The Australian. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  7. ↑ "Living under a flight path may be bad for the heart: study". Reuters. 10 October 2010. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  8. ↑ "Vaccine may not protect against pneumonia". UPI. 6 January 2009. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
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