Table 5:
Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) adapted for Cross-sectional StudiesKey: Scoring Interpretation
| Selection | Comparability | Outcome assessment | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Representativeness of the Sample (Max.1) | Sample Size (Max.1) | Non-Respondents (Max.1) | Ascertainment of Exposure (Risk Factor) (Max.1) | Control for Confounding Factors (Max.2) | Assessment of Outcome (Max.2) | Statistical Test (Max.1) | Score (Max.9) | Quality score | |
| *Gehring et al., (41) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | Fair |
| Monserrat-Mesquida et al., (43) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | Poor |
| Leitao et al., (44) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | Poor |
| Sullivan et al., (24) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 | Poor |
| Chang et al., (46) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6 | poor |
| *Dos Santos et al., (45) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 | Good |
Key: Scoring Interpretation
Good Quality: 3 or 4 stars in the Selection domain AND 1 or 2 stars in the Comparability domain AND 2 or 3 stars in the Outcome domain
Fair Quality: 2 stars in the Selection domain AND 1 or 2 stars in the Comparability domain AND 1 or 2 stars in the Outcome domain
Poor Quality: 0 or 1 star in Selection domain OR 0 stars in Comparability domain OR 0 or 1 star in Outcome domain.
*
The star symbol represents studies that directly address the research question