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. 2026 Feb 27;14:1760571. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2026.1760571

Table 2.

GRADE evidence quality evaluation.

Outcomes No. of studies (participants) Risk of bias Inconsistency Indirectness Imprecision Publication bias Quality of evidence
Daily steps 2 (162) Downgradeda Not downgradedb Not downgraded Downgradedc Not assessed e ⊕⊕○○ Low
BMI 5 (480) Not downgraded Not downgradedb Not downgraded Downgradedc Not assessede ⊕⊕⊕○ Moderate
Body weight 2 (75) Not downgraded Not downgradedb Not downgraded Seriously downgradedd Not assessede ⊕⊕○○ Low
ESS 3 (370) Not downgraded Not downgradedb Not downgraded Downgradedc Not assessede ⊕⊕⊕○ Moderate
AHI 2 (121) Not downgraded Not downgradedb Not downgraded Downgradedc Not assessede ⊕⊕⊕○ Moderate

a: downgraded for risk of bias due to high rates of missing data regarding step counts in the included studies, suggesting potential attrition bias. b: I2 >50% (Note: no downgrade for inconsistency was applied as I2 values were consistently low across all outcomes in this study). c: downgraded for imprecision as the 95% confidence interval crosses the line of no effect (includes 0). d: downgraded for serious imprecision due to small total sample size (< 200 participants across only 2 studies) and wide confidence intervals. e: publication bias was not assessed via funnel plots or Egger's test because fewer than 10 studies were included.