Advertisement
Table 1 Methodological quality assessment criteria
| Quality criteria | Score |
|---|---|
| Study population | |
| A) Description of source population | 1 |
| B) Valid inclusion and exclusion criteria | 1 |
| C) Sufficient description of baseline characteristics | 1 |
| Follow-up | |
| D) Follow-up of at least 1 year | 1 |
| E) Prospective or retrospective data collection | 1 |
| F) Loss to follow-up ≤20 % | 1 |
| G) Information about loss to follow-up (selective for age, sex or severity) | 1 |
| Exposure | |
| H) Exposure assessment blinded for the outcome | 1 |
| I) Exposure measured identically in the studied population at baseline and follow-up | 1 |
| Outcome | |
| J) Outcome assessment blinded for exposure | 1 |
| K) Outcome measured identically in the studied population at baseline and follow-up | 1 |
| Analysis | |
| L) Measure of association or measures of variance given | 1 |
| M) Adjusted for age, sex and severity | 1 |
