Table 4

Adapted Cochrane library checklist

ItemScore: + or −

  1. Are inclusion and exclusion criteria reproducible?

  2. Are the applied measurements reproducible?

  3. Follow-up of participants is at least 80%?

  4. Is the analysis corrected for confounders?

  5. Is outcome measure description reproducible?

Level of methodological quality
A2: all five items are scored positive
B: four of five items are scored positive
C: three or less items are scored positive