The Continuous Fragility Quotient as a Model-Free Assessment for Continuous Outcomes

Authors

  • Thomas F. Heston Department of Family Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA; Department of Medical Education and Clinical Sciences, Washington State University, Spokane, WA https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5655-2512

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19445024

Keywords:

continuous fragility quotient, CFQ, statistical fragility, continuous fragility index, continuous outcomes, fragility index, global fragility index, neutrality boundary framework

Abstract

The continuous fragility quotient (CFQ) is a model-free fragility metric for continuous outcomes that derives entirely from the Welch t-statistic geometry, requiring only published summary statistics. Unlike the continuous fragility index (CFI), which reconstructs pseudo-observations under distributional assumptions, CFQ produces a unique, analyst-independent value normalized to [0,1] for cross-study comparison. CFQ pairs with the Meaningful Change Index (MeCI) to complete the p–fr–nb triplet for continuous outcome trials.

References

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Heston TF. Fragility Metrics Toolkit. Zenodo; 2026. doi:10.5281/zenodo.17254763

Walsh M, Srinathan SK, McAuley DF, Mrkobrada M, Levine O, Ribic C, et al. The statistical significance of randomized controlled trial results is frequently fragile: a case for a Fragility Index. J Clin Epidemiol. 2014;67: 622–628. doi:10.1016/j.jclinepi.2013.10.019

Heston TF. The Global Fragility Index: A Path-Independent Measure of Statistical Fragility. Zenodo. 2025. doi:10.5281/zenodo.18078509

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Published

2026-04-07 — Updated on 2026-04-07

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How to Cite

Heston, T. F. (2026). The Continuous Fragility Quotient as a Model-Free Assessment for Continuous Outcomes. Internet Medical Journal, 1(1), e19445024. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19445024

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Articles