Characteristics of excluded studies

Agoestina 1978
Reason for exclusion	Insufficient weight change data: presented in figure without any specific numbers, other than mean gain for DMPA group in text.
Bahamondes 2010
Reason for exclusion	Mean weight change not reported. BMI included as control variable for examining bone mineral density. Study examined weight change among participants who had been using the method (LNG-IUS) for at least 7 years before the study.
Barsivala 1974
Reason for exclusion	Insufficient data: study duration not reported (our criteria was >= 3 months); also, authors did not specify whether the variance reported is standard deviation or standard error.
Beksinska 2010
Reason for exclusion	Analysis combined users of DMPA, NET-EN, or both. Authors noted the subgroups were too small to analyze separately and that differences in weight gain were not significant.
Berenson 1997
Reason for exclusion	Insufficient weight change data: means reported without any variance measure
Berenson 2009
Reason for exclusion	Insufficient weight change data: mean change reported without any variance. Of 240 who chose DMPA, 182 (76%) discontinued the method. Of the 182, 68 remained in study <= 2 more years (44 began the COC used in the study and 24 chose non-hormonal methods). Reportedly, DMPA users who had > 5% increase in weight at 6-month visit were more likely to be lost to follow up at the next visit than those who had not gained weight. Secondary report (Rahman 2012) provided weight gain (by kg categories) over any 6-month period; therefore, categories overlapped.
Bonny 2006
Reason for exclusion	Analysis combined groups that received DMPA or DMPA with estradiol supplement; researchers reported the two DMPA groups did not differ in weight gain. Method discontinuation for DMPA was 37% at 18 months. Secondary report (Bonny 2011) used weight change to examine bone mineral density but did not report means or standard deviations. Data from 2000 to 2003.
Chen 2011
Reason for exclusion	Abstract notes that weight gain was reported as side effect. Wrote to investigator regarding whether weight change was measured. Unable to obtain further information.
Clark 2005
Reason for exclusion	Insufficient weight change data: means (not mean change) presented in a figure. Text mentions mean change for DMPA at 30 months (no variance measure) and that the control group was basically unchanged. Due to discontinuations of DMPA and initiation of hormonal contraception among controls, the samples sizes were 17% (DMPA) and 19% (controls) of baseline by the last visit.
Costa 2012
Reason for exclusion	Mean change in weight was not reported. Participants were 1.5 months post-partum.
Dahlberg 1982
Reason for exclusion	Insufficient weight change data: means reported without any variance measure
El Mahgoub 1980
Reason for exclusion	Insufficient weight change data: mean change reported without any variance measure. Also, percent that lost or gained weight was reported, but no specific amount of weight was provided.
Hall 1980
Reason for exclusion	Insufficient weight change data: mean change in ‘ideal body weight’ shown in figure, except for mean change for progestin-only group reported in text.
Havranek 1972
Reason for exclusion	Insufficient weight data: mean change for one group reported without any variance measure
Kaunitz 2009
Reason for exclusion	Insufficient weight data. Mean change was reported within adverse event section without any variance measure. Data from 2001 to 2004.
Mangan 2002
Reason for exclusion	Comparison groups were DMPA users and OC users. Types of OC were not specified and might have included progestin-only as well as combination OC.
Olsson 1988
Reason for exclusion	Insufficient data for analysis: no N per group for analysis. First-year continuation rate was 59% for Norplant and 77% for Norplant-2; methods suggest these were life-table rates.
Ortayli 2001
Reason for exclusion	Insufficient data: report does not provide sample sizes used for analysis. Outcome data are from a pilot conducted in 1995 and the main study conducted from 1996 to 1998.
Risser 1999
Reason for exclusion	Comparison groups were DMPA users and OC users. Types of OC were not specified and might have included progestin-only as well as combination OC.
Segall-Gutierrez 2012
Reason for exclusion	Single-arm study comparing normal weight and obese women. The one intervention was subcutaneous DMPA.
WHO 1978
Reason for exclusion	Insufficient weight data: mean gains reported without any variance measure
Yela 2006
Reason for exclusion	Insufficient weight change data: tables show weight and BMI means (not change) by year; text mentions mean change per group over 5 years without any variance measure. Study began in 1998.
Zheng 1999
Reason for exclusion	Insufficient weight change data: means reported without any variance measure