Methodological quality of cohort study on rheumatic diseases in China: A systematic review.

Abstract

ObjectiveTo evaluate systematically the quality of the cohort studies on rheumatic diseases in China.MethodsRelevant databases were searched to find cohort studies on rheumatic diseases in China, and the basic information included in the literature was extracted and analyzed. Chinese and English literature were then compared with regard to methodological quality, according to the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS).ResultsIn total, we included 46 cohort studies, with 19 studies published in English and 27 studies published in Chinese. With regard to the basic characteristics of the literature, 78.26% of the studies were published in the past four years; 16 studies were associated with hyperuricemia, followed by eight studies involving systemic lupus erythematosus. The sample size of the studies in Chinese was lower than that in English studies (PConclusionThe Chinese rheumatic disease cohort studies started late, with a small sample size and fewer types of rheumatism. The quality of Chinese studies was better than English studies, and all reports were insufficient. In particular, "selecting exposed groups", "controlling the outcomes before study implementation" and "adequacy of follow-up" needed improvement.