title: Epidemiology, quality and reporting characteristics of meta-analyses of observational studies published in Chinese journals.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to examine the epidemiological and reporting characteristics as well as the methodological quality of meta-analyses (MAs) of observational studies published in Chinese journals.
  
  
  METHODS
  5 Chinese databases were searched for MAs of observational studies published from January 1978 to May 2014. Data were extracted into Excel spreadsheets, and Meta-analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (MOOSE) and Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR) checklists were used to assess reporting characteristics and methodological quality, respectively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 607 MAs were included. Only 52.2% of the MAs assessed the quality of the included primary studies, and the retrieval information was not comprehensive in more than half (85.8%) of the MAs. In addition, 50 (8.2%) MAs did not search any Chinese databases, while 126 (20.8%) studies did not search any English databases. Approximately 41.2% of the MAs did not describe the statistical methods in sufficient details, and most (95.5%) MAs did not report on conflicts of interest. However, compared with the before publication of the MOOSE Checklist, the quality of reporting improved significantly for 20 subitems after publication of the MOOSE Checklist, and 7 items of the included MAs demonstrated significant improvement after publication of the AMSTAR Checklist (p<0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although many MAs of observational studies have been published in Chinese journals, the reporting quality is questionable. Thus, there is an urgent need to increase the use of reporting guidelines and methodological tools in China; we recommend that Chinese journals adopt the MOOSE and AMSTAR criteria.
authors.affiliation: School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.
authors.forename: Zhe-wen
authors.initials: ZW
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: The First Hospital of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.
authors.forename: Zhuan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: The First School of Clinical Medicine of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.
authors.forename: Ji-chun
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: The First School of Clinical Medicine of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.
authors.forename: Jin-long
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: The First School of Clinical Medicine of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Evidence-Based Medicine Center, Institute of Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.
authors.forename: Ke-hu
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D057189:Checklist; D002681:China; D006801:Humans; D015201:Meta-Analysis as Topic; D064887:Observational Studies as Topic / Q000592:standards*; D011642:Publications / Q000592:standards*; D011643:Publishing / Q000592:standards*
keywords: EPIDEMIOLOGY; MEDICAL JOURNALISM; QUALITATIVE RESEARCH