Table 3.

Quality assessment of studies

Cohort studies
Study		Did the study address a clearly focused issue?		Was the cohort recruited in an acceptable way?		Was the exposure accurately measured to minimise bias?			Was the outcome accurately measured to minimize bias?			Have the authors identified all important confounding factors?			Have they taken account of the confounding factors in the design and/or analysis?		Was the follow up of subjects complete enough?	Was the follow up of subjects long enough?			How precise are the results? Do you believe the results?		Can the results be applied to the local population?		Do the results of this study fit with other available evidence?		What are the implications of this study for practice?		Total (out of 12)
Amarasinghe et al. (2019) [21]		√		√		√			√			√			√		√	√			√		√		?		√		11
Carey et al. (2012) [22]		√		√		X			√			√			√		√	√			√		√		√		√		11
Ceilleachair et al. (2017) [2324]		√		√		√			√			√			√		?	√			√		√		√		√		11
Gordon et al. (2007) [25]		√		√		√			√			?			√		√	√			√		√		√		√		11
Hanly et al. (2013) [26]		√		√		X			√			√			√		?	√			√		√		√		√		10
Jagsi et al. (2014) [27]		√		√		√			√			√			√		√	√			√		√		√		?		11
Lauzier et al. (2008) [28]		√		√		√			√			√			√		?	√			√		√		√		√		11
Lauzier et al. (2013) [29]		√		√		√			√			√			√		√	√			√		√		√		√		12
Li et al. (2013) [30]		√		√		√			√			?			√		√	√			√		√		√		√		11
Mahmood et al. (2018) [31]		√		√		X			√			√			√		√	√			√		√		√		√		11
Marti et al. (2016) [32]		√		√		√			√			√			?		√	√			√		√		√		√		11
Pisu, et al. (2011) [33]		√		√		√			√			√			√		√	√			√		√		√		√		12
Su et al. (2018)		√		?		√			√			√			√		√	√			√		√		√		√		11
Vayr et al. (2020) [36]		√		√		√			√			√			√		√	√			√		√		√		?		11
Zhang et al. (2017) [37]		√		√		X			√			√			√		√	√			√		√		√		√		11
Humphries, et al. (2020) [38]		√		√		√			√			√			√		√	√			√		√		√		?		11
Qualitative study
Study		Was there a clear statement of the aims of the research?		Is a qualitative methodology appropriate?			Was the research design appropriate to address the aims of the research?			Was the recruitment strategy appropriate to the aims of the research?			Was the data collected in a way that addressed the research issue?			Has the relationship between researcher and participants been adequately considered?			Have ethical issues been taken into consideration?			Was the data analysis sufficiently rigorous?		Is there a clear statement of findings?		How valuable is the research?		Total (out of 10)
Céilleachair et al. (2012) [23]		√		√			√			√			√			?			√			√		√		√		9
Case control study
Study	Did the study address a clearly focused issue?		Did the authors use an appropriate method to answer their question?		Were the cases recruited in an acceptable way?			Were the controls selected in an acceptable way?			Was the exposure accurately measured to minimise bias?			Aside from the experimental intervention, were the groups treated equally?			Have the authors taken account of the potential confounding factors in the design and/or in their analysis?			How precise was the estimate of the treatment effect?		Do you believe the results?		Can the results be applied to the local population?		Do the results of this study fit with other available evidence?		Total (out of 11)
Tison et al. (2016) [34]	√		√		√			√			√			√			√			√		√		√		√		11

√, Yes; X, No; ?, Can’t tell