El‐Agroudy 2003a.

Methods	Study design: parallel RCT Duration of study: not reported Duration of follow‐up: 12 months
Participants	Country: Egypt Setting: single centre Inclusion criteria: males aged > 20 years; not diabetic, no steroids prior to transplantation; not on HD > 2 years Number: treatment group (20); control group (20) Mean age ± SD (years): treatment group (31.4 ± 10.1); control group (31.6 ± 10.7) Sex (M/F): all male Exclusion criteria: impaired graft function (SCr > 0.18 mmol/L); prior fracture; hypogonadism; adrenal gland diseases
Interventions	Treatment group Alfacalcidol: 0.5 mg/d Control group No treatment Co‐interventions Calcium
Outcomes	Kidney function tests, serum calcium and phosphorus BMD of lumbar spine, femoral neck, and forearm by DEXA
Notes	Funding source: not reported Trial registration: not applicable as published before end of 2005
Risk of bias
Bias	Authors' judgement	Support for judgement
Random sequence generation (selection bias)	Low risk	Computer generated sequence
Allocation concealment (selection bias)	Low risk	Randomised treatment allocation was concealed in sequentially numbered and sealed opaque envelopes
Blinding of participants and personnel (performance bias) All outcomes	High risk	Single‐blind
Blinding of outcome assessment (detection bias) All outcomes	Unclear risk	Insufficient information to permit judgement
Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias) All outcomes	Low risk	All patients completed 1 year of the study
Selective reporting (reporting bias)	Low risk	Patient‐centred outcomes captured and reported systematically
Other bias	Unclear risk	No additional threats to validity identified