Table 5.
Summary of dictionaries used in the extraction algorithm
| Dictionary name | Size | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adjectives | 32 | Descriptive adjectives for the participant population | Non-smoking, postmenopausal |
| Controls | 70 | Nouns that refer to the participant population | Participants, students |
| Countries | 464 | Names of countries worldwide along with their respective nationalities | Malaysian, USA, American |
| Effect | 41 | Utilised epidemiological study metrics | Hazard ratio, adjusted odds ratio |
| Numbers | 178 | Numbers described by words | One, thousand |
| Related | 24 | Verbs indicating an association between exposure and outcome | Related, linked |
| Relations | 26 | Nouns indicating an association between exposure and outcome | Correlation, association |
| States | 56 | Names of the states and territories in the USA | Missouri, New York |
| Study types | 21 | Various epidemiological study designs (both observational and experimental) | Placebo-controlled, case control |
| PFOA | 51 | Various mentions of perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) mentions | PFOA, perfluorooctanoic acid |
| BPA | 56 | Variations of bisphenol A (BPA) mentions | BPA, urinary BPA concentrations |
| Folic acid | 57 | Variations of folic acid mentions | Folic acid, folic acid supplement |
| Air pollutants | 73 | Variations of outdoor particulate matter exposure mentions | Ambient no2, particulate air pollution |
| Fetal growth | 87 | Variations of fetal growth mentions | Birth weight, ponderal index |
| Twinning | 28 | Variations of twinning mentions | Twinning, twin pregnancies |
| Lung cancer | 229 | Variations of lung cancer and related comorbidities mentions | lc, lung cancer |
| Confounders | 74 | Various concept mentions as confounders in | Mode of delivery, fertility treatment use |