Ain’t necessarily so: Review and critique of recent meta-analyses of behavioral medicine interventions in health psychology.

Design: Narrative review.Main Outcome Measures: We applied the following criteria to each meta-analysis: (1) whether each meta-analysis was described accurately, adequately, and transparently in the article; (2) whether there was an adequate attempt to deal with methodological quality of the original trials; (3) the extent to which the meta-analysis depended on small, underpowered studies; and (4) the extent to which the meta-analysis provided valid and useful evidencebased recommendations.Results: Across the four meta-analyses, we identified substantial problems with the transparency and completeness with which these meta-analyses were reported, as well as a dependence on small, underpowered trials of generally poor quality.Conclusion: Results of our exercise raise questions about the clinical validity and utility of the conclusions of these meta-analyses.Results should serve as a wake up call to prospective authors, reviewers, and end-users of meta-analyses now appearing in the literature.