title: Creating a literature database of low-calorie sweeteners and health studies: evidence mapping.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Evidence mapping is an emerging tool used to systematically identify, organize and summarize the quantity and focus of scientific evidence on a broad topic, but there are currently no methodological standards. Using the topic of low-calorie sweeteners (LCS) and selected health outcomes, we describe the process of creating an evidence-map database and demonstrate several example descriptive analyses using this database.
  
  
  METHODS
  The process of creating an evidence-map database is described in detail. The steps include: developing a comprehensive literature search strategy, establishing study eligibility criteria and a systematic study selection process, extracting data, developing outcome groups with input from expert stakeholders and tabulating data using descriptive analyses. The database was uploaded onto SRDR™ (Systematic Review Data Repository), an open public data repository.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Our final LCS evidence-map database included 225 studies, of which 208 were interventional studies and 17 were cohort studies. An example bubble plot was produced to display the evidence-map data and visualize research gaps according to four parameters: comparison types, population baseline health status, outcome groups, and study sample size. This plot indicated a lack of studies assessing appetite and dietary intake related outcomes using LCS with a sugar intake comparison in people with diabetes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Evidence mapping is an important tool for the contextualization of in-depth systematic reviews within broader literature and identifies gaps in the evidence base, which can be used to inform future research. An open evidence-map database has the potential to promote knowledge translation from nutrition science to policy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA. deenawang@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Ding Ding
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA. Marissa.Shams_White@tufts.edu.
authors.forename: Marissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shams-White
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA. oliver-john.bright@tufts.edu.
authors.forename: Oliver John M
authors.initials: OJ
authors.lastname: Bright
authors.affiliation: Department of Interdisciplinary Studies, Rutgers University School of Health Related Professions, Newark, NJ, USA. parrotja@shrp.rutgers.edu.
authors.forename: J Scott
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Parrott
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA. Mei_Chun.Chung@tufts.edu.
authors.forename: Mei
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chung
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D015331:Cohort Studies; D016208:Databases, Factual; D055317:Evidence-Based Practice / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D064306:Non-Nutritive Sweeteners / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D011247:Pregnancy; D011642:Publications / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012196:Review Literature as Topic
chemical_list: D064306:Non-Nutritive Sweeteners