Table 1.
Study characteristics
| Study characteristics (n = 456) | Count (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Year of publication | 1999–2002 | 3 (0.7) |
| 2003–2006 | 21 (4.6) | |
| 2007–2010 | 77 (16.9) | |
| 2011–2014 | 306 (67.1) | |
| 2015 (until April) | 49 (10.7) | |
| Geographic region | Europe | 234 (51.3) |
| North America | 140 (30.7) | |
| Asia | 67 (14.7) | |
| Central & South America | 6 (1.3) | |
| Australia & New Zealand | 7 (1.5) | |
| Africa | 2 (0.4) | |
| Knowledge synthesis approach | Systematic review | 365 (80.0) |
| Overview of reviews | 8 (1.8) | |
| Narrative review | 1 (0.2) | |
| Not reported | 82 (18.0) | |
| Review duration (month) | <6 months | 55 (12.1) |
| 6–12 months | 132 (28.9) | |
| >12–24 months | 106 (23.2) | |
| >24 months | 81 (17.8) | |
| Not reported | 82 (18.0) | |
| Funding | Publicly-sponsored | 165 (36.2) |
| Industry-sponsored | 100 (21.9) | |
| Non-sponsored | 101 (22.1) | |
| Industry and publicly sponsored | 8 (1.8) | |
| Funding source not reported | 82 (18.0) | |
| Full review method reporteda | Yes | 438 (96.1) |
| No | 18 (3.9) | |
| Number of trials included in review | Median (IQR) | 25 (14–48) |
| Number of trials included in the network | Median (IQR) | 21 (13–40) |
aNMAs without full review method were those with inadequate reporting of review methods (i.e., literature search, study selection, data abstract and quality assessment)
IQR interquartile range