<s>
Individual	B-General_Concept
participant	I-General_Concept
data	I-General_Concept
(	O
also	O
known	O
as	O
individual	B-General_Concept
patient	I-General_Concept
data	I-General_Concept
,	O
often	O
abbreviated	O
IPD	O
)	O
is	O
raw	O
data	O
from	O
individual	O
participants	O
,	O
and	O
is	O
often	O
used	O
in	O
the	O
context	O
of	O
meta-analysis	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
International	O
Committee	O
of	O
Medical	O
Journal	O
Editors	O
(	O
ICMJE	O
)	O
has	O
stated	O
that	O
sharing	O
of	O
deidentified	O
individual	B-General_Concept
participant	I-General_Concept
data	I-General_Concept
is	O
an	O
ethical	O
obligation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Due	O
to	O
the	O
high	O
level	O
of	O
precision	O
and	O
consistency	O
this	O
approach	O
allows	O
for	O
(	O
which	O
in	O
turn	O
makes	O
it	O
easier	O
for	O
researchers	O
to	O
minimize	O
heterogeneity	B-General_Concept
)	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
considered	O
the	O
gold	O
standard	O
of	O
evidence	O
synthesis	O
.	O
</s>
