Table 1.

Criteria for Assessment of the Methodological Quality of Observational Studies.

Item	Criterion	Score
Study population	Sample size ≥ 50 and participation rate≥ 80%	1
Patient selection	For cohort studies: cases and controls draw from the same population; for cross-sectional and case-series studies: selected group was representative of the TLSCIa population	1
Study design	Cohort design	2
	Retrospective case-series or cross-sectional design	1
	Reported the duration of follow-up	1
	Study withdrawal rate ≤ 20%	1
Analysis and data presentation	Appropriate analysis techniques were used	1
	Multivariate analysis performed	1
	Frequencies of most important outcomes were given	1

^aThoracolumbar spinal cord injury.