Synthesis
The treatment effect of all outcomes was measured using mean/median,
SD/IQR with 95% Confidence Interval (CI), as all of them were
quantitative data. First, a robust qualitative synthesis was conducted.
Second, we conducted a quantitative synthesis with RevMan (v.5.4.1).
Different forest plots were created. Statistical heterogeneity was
evaluated using the Higgins I2 test and Chi-Squared
Cochran Q-test (α=0.1). When I2 was over 75%, was
regarded as high statistical heterogeneity. Inverse Variance statistical
method with standardized mean difference (SMD) as effect measure was
conducted. The random-effects model was applied due to the heterogeneity
of the studies. We conducted sensitivity analysis (excluding studies of
serious/critical risk of bias). Subgroup analyses were performed based
on the type of study. In case of missing data, we tried to contact the
authors by e-mail.
Publication bias was assessed if ≥10 studies were available per outcome.
RevMan 5.4.1 was used to create funnel plots.