Table 2.
Summarized Physical Health Outcomes and Evidence Class Reported in Included Meta-analyses of Observational Studies
| Level of Evidence | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outcome | I | II | III | IV | NS |
| CVD | None | Cohort studies: risk of ischemic heart disease | None | Cohort studies: risk of AMI, CAD, any stroke, ischemic stroke | Case-control studies: risk of coronary stenosis; risk of calcified plaques; risk of any plaque |
| Case-control studies: risk of noncalcified plaques | … | ||||
| Case-control/cross-sectional studies: prevalence of IMT, flow-mediated vasodilatation, pulse wave velocity | … | ||||
| Gynecological outcomes | None | Cohort studies: risk of pregnancy-related mortality | None | Cohort studies: risk of stillbirth, perinatal mortality, infant mortality, pregnancy-induced hypertension, caesarian sepsis, caesarian wound infection, caesarian endometritis, low birthweight, preterm delivery | Cohort studies: risk of neonatal mortality, pregnancy-related hypertension, pre-eclampsia, eclampsia, abnormal presentation, caesarian section |
| Cohort/case-control studies: risk of uterine rupture, endometritis | … | ||||
| Metabolic and blood pressure outcomes | None | None | None | Cohort studies: mean hemoglobin levels | … |
| Cross-sectional/case-control studies: mean BMI, TGs, HDL, SBP, DBP levels | Cross-sectional/case-control studies: mean LDL, glucose, HbA1c levels | ||||
| Other outcomes | None | Cross-sectional studies: prevalence of cough | Cohort studies: risk of fractures, sepsis, death | Cohort studies: risk of intracranial hemorrhage, renal disease, melanoma (pre- and post-HAART time period) | … |
| … | Case-control studies: risk of intracerebral hemorrhage | … | |||
| Cross-sectional studies: prevalence of breathlessness, anemia, CPPD | Cross-sectional studies: prevalence of ED. | Cross-sectional/case-control studies: prevalence of dental caries |
Abbreviations: AMI, acute myocardial infarction; BMI, body mass index; CAD, coronary artery disease; CPPD, calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate crystal deposition disease; CVD, cardiovascular disease; DBP, diastolic blood pressure; ED, erectile dysfunction; HAART, highly active antiretroviral therapy; HbA1c, glycated hemoglobin; HDL, high-density lipoprotein; IMT, intima media thickness; LDL, low-density lipoprotein; NS, not significant; SBP, systolic blood pressure; TGs, triglycerides.