title: Quality assessment of observational studies in psychiatry: an example  from perinatal psychiatric research.
abstract: In perinatal psychiatry, randomized controlled trials are often not feasible on ethical grounds. Many studies are observational in nature, while others employ large databases not designed primarily for research purposes. Quality assessment of the resulting research is complicated by a lack of standardized tools specifically for this purpose. The aim of this paper is to describe the Systematic Assessment of Quality in Observational Research (SAQOR), a quality assessment tool our team devised for a series of systematic reviews and meta-analyses of evidence-based literature regarding risks and benefits of antidepressant medication during pregnancy.
authors: Social and Epidemiological Research Department, Centre for Addiction & Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada. l.ross@utoronto.ca
authors: L E
authors: LE
authors: Ross
authors: S
authors: S
authors: Grigoriadis
authors: L
authors: L
authors: Mamisashvili
authors: G
authors: G
authors: Koren
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Steiner
authors: C-L
authors: CL
authors: Dennis
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Cheung
authors: P
authors: P
authors: Mousmanis
mesh_terms: D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000009:adverse effects; D035843:Biomedical Research; D015331:Cohort Studies; D016208:Databases, Factual / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy*; D019370:Observation / Q000379:methods*; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000175:diagnosis*
chemical_list: D000928:Antidepressive Agents