Table 3. Results of subgroup analyses according to trial and participant characteristics for total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol.

	Group	No	Net change (95% CI)	P-heterogeneity	I2 (%)
Total cholesterol
	Total	15	−0.30 (−0.36, −0.25)	0.953	0
Baseline	≥6 mmol/L	6	−0.35 (−0.46, −0.23)	0.872	0
	<6 mmol/L	8	−0.29 (−0.35, −0.23)	0.789	0
Duration	≥7 wk	7	−0.30 (−0.41, −0.19)	0.439	0
	<6 wk	8	−0.31 (−0.37, −0.24)	0.999	0
Stanol or sterol dose	≥3 g	6	−0.29 (−0.35, −0.24)	0.816	0
	<3 g	9	−0.37 (−0.52, −0.21)	0.897	0
Diet modification	yes	8	−0.31 (−0.37, −0.25)	0.990	0
	no	7	−0.29 (−0.39, −0.18)	0.531	0
Intervention	sterol only	8	−0.34 (−0.49, −0.19)	0.931	0
	stanol only	9	−0.31 (−0.36, −0.25)	0.697	0
Study design	parallel	9	−0.31 (−0.37, −0.25)	0.715	0
	cross-over	6	−0.26 (−0.39, −0.14)	0.988	0
LDL-cholesterol
	Total	14	−0.30 (−0.35, −0.25)	0.958	0
Baseline	≥3.5 mmol/L	6	−0.30 (−0.37, −0.23)	0.925	0
	<3.5 mmol/L	6	−0.28 (−0.36, −0.20)	0.673	0
Duration	≥7 wk	6	−0.35 (−0.45, −0.25)	0.843	0
	<6 wk	8	−0.28 (−0.34, −0.23)	0.949	0
Stanol or sterol dose	≥3 g	6	−0.30 (−0.36, −0.25)	0.868	0
	<3 g	8	−0.28 (−0.40, −0.15)	0.818	0
Diet modification	yes	7	−0.31 (−0.40, −0.22)	0.745	0
	no	7	−0.30 (−0.35, −0.24)	0.909	0
Intervention	sterol only	8	−0.27 (−0.39, −0.14)	0.868	0
	stanol only	8	−0.31 (−0.36, −0.26)	0.890	0
Study design	parallel	8	−0.30 (−0.36, −0.25)	0.881	0
	cross-over	6	−0.30 (−0.40, −0.20)	0.761	0