Table 3. Assessment of the methodologic quality of the included studies.
| Review category | First author and year (Ref)* | Level of randomization | Central computerized randomization | Use of placebo or sham in control group | Losses to follow-up <10% (Excluding deaths) | Compliance with treatment intervention >80% | Reported adverse events |
| Vitamin D or calcium | Chapuy 1994† [25] | Individual | Not reported | Double placebo (for vitamin D and calcium) | Yes | Yes at 18 months | Yes |
| Chapuy 2002 [27] | Individual | Not reported | Double placebo (for vitamin D and calcium) | No | Yes | Yes | |
| Flicker 2005 [28] | Individual | Yes | Placebo (weekly or daily) +0.6 g calcium daily | No | No | Yes (No adverse events occurred) | |
| Law 2006 [29] | Cluster (30-bedded residential unit or small facility without units) | Yes | No (Usual care) | Yes | Not reported (2% stopped treatment) | Yes | |
| Lyons 2007 [30] | Individual | Yes | Placebo | Yes | Yes | No | |
| Meyer 2002 [31] | Individual | No (Allocated by day of birth) | Placebo | No | Unclear (2% stopped treatment) | No | |
| Sato 2005 [32] | Individual | Yes | Placebo | Unclear | Not reported | No | |
| Sato 2005 (Sunlight) [33] | Individual | Yes | No (Usual care+1.2g elemental calcium daily) | Yes | Not reported | No | |
| Sato 2003 (Sunlight) [34] | Individual | Yes | No (Usual care) | No | Not reported | Yes (No adverse events occurred) | |
| Drug therapies | Greenspan 2002 [35] | Individual | Yes | Placebo+Vitamin D 400 IU daily (type not specified) +Calcium carbonate (OsCal 500, if dietary calcium <1500 mg/day) | Not reported | Not reported | Yes |
| Alternative medicines | Inkovaara 1975 [36] | Individual | No (Allocated by year of birth – odd or even number) | Matched placebo (30 mg sodium bicarbonate) | No | Not reported | Yes |
| Exercise, behavioral or multimodal | Becker 2002 [37] | Cluster (Nursing home) | No (Allocated by sealed envelopes) | No (Usual care) | Yes | No | No |
| Cox 2003 [38] | Cluster (Primary Care Organizations [PCO] representing multiple nursing homes) | Yes | No (Usual care) | Yes for individuals | Not clearly reported | No | |
| Jensen 2002 [39] | Cluster (Nursing home) | No (Allocated by sealed envelopes) | No (Usual care) | No | Not clearly reported for all components of intervention | No | |
| Sakamoto 2006 [40] | Individual | No (Allocated by random number table) | No (Usual care) | Yes | Not clearly reported | No | |
| Hip protectors | Sawka 2007 (Systematic review, data from 4 trials)‡ [22] | Jantti – Individual Others - Cluster | (Ekman 1997, Harada 2001, Jantti 1998, Meyer 2003) Yes - Meyer study, not others | No (Usual care) | No | No (Unclear for Meyer 2003λ) | No |
| Koike 2009 [45] | Cluster | No (Random number table) | No (Usual care and a leaflet on fracture prevention) | Yes | No (79.7%) | Yes |
*Ref is the reference number listed at the end of this paper.
†Some data reported in a prior paper by Chapuy et al. in 1992 on the same study population [reference 26].
‡Some data reported in a prior paper by Sawka et al. in 2005 [reference 23] or the primary references.
λIn the hip protector study by Meyer et al. [reference 44], the primary author relayed through e-mail correspondence that hip protector compliance was not measured, but a “worst-case” estimate of 34% for hip protector use in the treatment group was reported.