Therefore, conclusions based exclusively on published studies can be misleading.This procedure calculates the difference between the observed means in two independent samples. trimester).Ī document often written by a panel that provides a comprehensive review of all relevant studies on a particular clinical or health-related topic/question.Ī phenomenon in which studies with positive results have a better chance of being published, are published earlier, and are published in journals with higher impact factors. Seventeen studies were included (93,676 women) and analysis showed a "significant reduction in postpartum depression scores in women who were physically active during their pregnancies when compared with inactive women." Possible limitations or moderators of this effect include intensity and frequency of physical activity, type of physical activity, and timepoint in pregnancy (e.g. This meta-analysis explored whether physical activity during pregnancy prevents postpartum depression. Journal of Affective Disorders, 246, 29-41. Physical activity during pregnancy and postpartum depression: Systematic review and meta-analysis.
Nakamura, A., van Der Waerden, J., Melchior, M., Bolze, C., El-Khoury, F., & Pryor, L. Further research is needed to explore this issue in patients with morbid obesity. There were no significant differences for patients undergoing minimally invasive surgery, but patients with obesity who had open surgery had experienced higher blood loss and longer operative times (not clinically meaningful) as well as higher complication and reoperation rates. A meta-analysis of 32 studies (23,415 patients) was conducted. This study looked at surgical outcomes including "blood loss, operative time, length of stay, complication and reoperation rates and functional outcomes" between patients with and without obesity. Some previous studies have shown higher perioperative morbidity in patients with obesity while other studies have not shown this effect. This meta-analysis was interested in determining whether obesity affects the outcome of spinal surgery. Clinical Neurology and Neurosurgery, 177, 27-36. Impact of obesity on outcomes following lumbar spine surgery: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Goyal, A., Elminawy, M., Kerezoudis, P., Lu, V., Yolcu, Y., Alvi, M., & Bydon, M. This meta-analysis showed a 50% reduction in melanoma diagnosis among sunscreen-wearers. The subjects from all eight studies (total: 860 subjects) were pooled and statistically analyzed to determine the effect of the relationship between wearing sunscreen and melanoma.
All of the studies showed a positive effect between wearing sunscreen and reducing the likelihood of melanoma. The analysis should include published and unpublished results to avoid publication bias.ĭoes the meta-analysis include any appropriate relevant studies that may have had negative outcomes?ĭo individuals who wear sunscreen have fewer cases of melanoma than those who do not wear sunscreen? A MEDLINE search was conducted using the terms melanoma, sunscreening agents, and zinc oxide, resulting in 8 randomized controlled studies, each with between 100 and 120 subjects.
all randomized controlled trials).Īre the studies being reviewed all the same type of study or are they a mixture of different types? The studies pooled for review should be similar in type (i.e.