Example of how to present assessments of certainty in the body of evidence for each outcome
| Outcome | Anticipated absolute effects (95% CI) | No of participants (RCTs) | Certainty | ||
| Risk with control group | Risk with resistance exercise training | ||||
| Cardiovascular morbidity/mortality | Could not be calculated due to lack of reporting. | ||||
| Systolic blood pressure (mm Hg) | ST | 115.45 mm Hg | MD 3.17 mm Hg lower (6.95 lower to 0.60 higher) | 116 (4 RCTs) | ⊕◯◯◯ VERY LOW *†‡ |
| MT | 122.8 mm Hg | MD 4.02 mm Hg lower (5.92 lower to 2.11 lower) | 1456 (46 RCTs) | ⊕◯◯◯ VERY LOW *†‡ | |
| LT | 131.6 mm Hg | MD 5.08 mm Hg lower (10.04 lower to 0.13 higher) | 366 (8 RCTs) | ⊕⊕◯◯ LOW*‡ | |
| Mean arterial pressure (mm Hg) | ST | 86.5 mm Hg | MD 3.31 mm Hg lower (6.86 lower to 0.78 higher) | 67 (3 RCTs) | ⊕◯◯◯ VERY LOW*†‡ |
| MT | 79.6 mm Hg | MD 1.57 mm Hg lower (4.60 lower to 1.46 higher) | 238 (10 RCTs) | ⊕◯◯◯ VERY LOW*†‡ | |
| Diastolic blood pressure (mm Hg) | ST | 65.2 mm Hg | MD 0.72 mm Hg lower (3.66 lower to 2.22 higher) | 116 (4 RCTs) | ⊕◯◯◯ VERY LOW *† ‡ |
| MT | 74.3 mm Hg | MD 1.73 mm Hg lower (2.88 lower to 0.57 lower) | 1418 (45 RCTs) | ⊕⊕◯◯ LOW*‡ | |
| LT | 76 mm Hg | MD 4.93 mm Hg lower (8.58 lower to 1.28 lower) | 346 (7 RCTs) | ⊕◯◯◯ VERY LOW†‡ | |
Please refer to the original publication for the full results table; reproduced with permission.
Downgraded due to being a surrogate outcome.
*Downgraded due to potential for a recommendation or clinical course of action differing if the upper versus the lower boundary of the CI represented the truth and/or a sample size <400.
†Publication bias suspected after inspection of funnel plots.
‡Inconsistent due to high heterogeneity, non-overlap of CI and/or markedly dissimilar point estimates.
LT, long term; MD, mean difference; MT, medium term; RCTs, randomised controlled trials; ST, short term.