Prevalence and methodological quality of systematic reviews in Korean medical journals

Ref ID 880
First Author S.J. Kim
Journal EPIDEMIOLOGY AND HEALTH
Year Of Publishing 2023
URL https://www.e-epih.org/journal/view.php?doi=10.4178/epih.e2023017
Keywords Protocols
General medical
Low reporting quality
Non-Cochrane reviews
Journalology/ Publication science
Low methodological quality
Problem(s) Meta-analyses and forest plots presented without considering risk of bias / quality
Reasons for excluding potentially eligible studies not provided
Risk of bias not incorporated into conclusions of review
No registered or published protocol
Low methodological (AMSTAR) quality
Number of systematic reviews included 126
Summary of Findings From 126 included systematic reviews published in the top 15 journals with the highest Korean Medical Citation Index, published between 2018 to 2021. There were five AMSTAR 2 items which had an adherence rate lower than 50% in the included systematic reviews. Fewer than 15% of articles adhered to items 2 (protocol availability and list of included studies), which fall under critical domains. Under half of the systematic reviews provided an assessment of the risk of bias on the results of the analysis, or in the interpretation of the results (42.7% and 43.7% respectively). The overall confidence in the methodological quality of the systematic reviews was low (9.5%) or critically low (90.5%)
Did the article find that the problem(s) led to qualitative changes in interpretation of the results? Not Applicable
Are the methods of the article described in enough detail to replicate the study? Yes