Generalizing Findings in Nested Cohorts

Many research findings are based on a nested subset of an original cohort followed over time, but results are rarely generalized back to the original population. Here, we conduct a “proof of concept” analysis demonstrating the application of simple methods to generalize the association between prepregnancy obesity and preeclampsia in women from the Nulliparous Pregnancy Outcomes Study: Monitoring Mothers to Be (nuMoM2b, target sample), using a subset of women whose follow up was extended to 3 years postpartum in the Heart Health Study (nuMoM2b-HHS, source sample). We constructed inverse probability of selection weights (IPSW) and estimated three risk ratios for the association between obesity and preeclampsia: in the target nuMoM2b sample (N = 9,920), in the source nuMoM2b-HHS sample (N = 4,486), and in the weighted source nuMoM2b-HHS sample generalized back to the target sample using IPSW (pseudo N = 4,468). In the target, source, and weighted samples, the estimated risk ratios (95% CIs) were 2.0 (1.7, 2.3), 2.2 (1.8, 2.6), and 2.0 (1.6, 2.4), respectively. We discuss the assumptions involved in generalizing study findings, and methods available for doing so. When relevant, researchers should deploy methods for generalizing study nested cohort findings back to a target sample.