Table 1.
Methodological quality of included studies assessed by the EPOC risk of bias criteria
| Study | Design | Allocation sequence | Allocation concealment | Baseline outcome | Baseline characteristics | Incomplete outcomes | Blinding | Contamination | Selective reporting | Other bias |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anderson, 2005 [29] | NRCT | H | H | U | H | U | L | H | L | U |
| Dai, 2003 [37] | CBA | H | H | U | H | L | U | H | L | H |
| Jaarsma, 1999 [32] | NRCT | U | U | L | L | U | L | H | L | L |
| McDonald, 2001 [33] | NRCT | U | U | U | L | L | L | H | L | L |
| Naylor, 1994 [36] | NRCT | U | U | U | H | U | L | H | L | L |
| Record, 2011 [34] | NRCT | H | U | L | H | U | L | U | L | L |
| Riegel, 2006 [31] | NRCT | U | L | U | U | L | L | H | L | L |
| Sales, 2014 [35] | NRCT | U | U | U | L | L | L | H | L | L |
| Sorknaes, 2011 [30] | NRCT | H | H | U | L | L | L | H | L | L |
| Sorknaes, 2013 [28] | RCT | L | L | L | L | L | L | H | L | L |
Studies coded as high risk are labelled with “H”, those coded as low risk are labelled with an “L” and those studies coded as unclear (which did not provide sufficient information to assess risk of bias) are labelled with “U”