Table 1 Cross-sectional study: (Give the title and its in- text citation)

Critical appraisal questions

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1. Were the criteria for inclusion in the sample clearly defined?

Yes/No/Unclear

Evidence: justification, compare and contrasting or/and providing solution

Critical appraisal questions

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2. Were the study subjects and the setting described in detail?

Yes/No/Unclear

Evidence: justification, compare and contrasting or/and providing solution

Critical appraisal questions

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3.Was the exposure measured in a valid and reliable way?

Yes/No/Unclear

Evidence: justification, compare and contrasting or/and providing solution

Critical appraisal questions

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4.Were objective, standard criteria used for measurement of the condition?

Yes/No/Unclear

Evidence: justification, compare and contrasting or/and providing solution

Critical appraisal questions

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5.Were confounding factors identified?

Yes/No/Unclear

Evidence: justification, compare and contrasting or/and providing solution

Critical appraisal questions

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6.Were strategies to deal with confounding factors stated?

Yes/No/Unclear

Evidence: justification, compare and contrasting or/and providing solution

Critical appraisal questions

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7.Were the outcomes measured in a valid and reliable way?

Yes/No/Unclear

Evidence: justification, compare and contrasting or/and providing solution

Critical appraisal questions

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8.Was appropriate statistical analysis used?

Yes/No/Unclear

Evidence: justification, compare and contrasting or/and providing solution

Table 2 Case-control study: (Give the title and its in- text citation)

Critical appraisal questions

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1.Did the study address a clearly focused issue?

Yes/No/Unclear

Evidence: justification, compare and contrasting or/and providing solution

Critical appraisal questions

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2. Did the authors use an appropriate method to answer their question?

Yes/No/Unclear

Evidence: justification, compare and contrasting or/and providing solution

Critical appraisal questions

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3. Were the cases recruited in an acceptable way?

Yes/No/Unclear

Evidence: justification, compare and contrasting or/and providing solution

Critical appraisal questions

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4. Were the controls selected in an acceptable way?

Yes/No/Unclear

Evidence: justification, compare and contrasting or/and providing solution

Critical appraisal questions

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5. Was the exposure accurately measured to minimise bias?

Yes/No/Unclear

Evidence: justification, compare and contrasting or/and providing solution

Critical appraisal questions

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6. Aside from the experimental intervention, were the groups treated equally?

Yes/No/Unclear

Evidence: justification, compare and contrasting or/and providing solution

Critical appraisal questions

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7. Have the authors taken account of the potential confounding factors in the design and/or in their analysis?

Yes/No/Unclear

Evidence: justification, compare and contrasting or/and providing solution

Critical appraisal questions

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8. How large was the treatment effect?

Yes/No/Unclear

Evidence: justification, compare and contrasting or/and providing solution

Critical appraisal questions

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9. How precise was the estimate of the treatment effect?

Yes/No/Unclear

Evidence: justification, compare and contrasting or/and providing solution

Critical appraisal questions

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10. Do you believe the results?

Yes/No/Unclear

Evidence: justification, compare and contrasting or/and providing solution

Critical appraisal questions

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11. Can the results be applied to the local population?

Yes/No/Unclear

Evidence: justification, compare and contrasting or/and providing solution

Critical appraisal questions

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12. Do the results of this study fit with other available evidence?

Yes/No/Unclear

Evidence: justification, compare and contrasting or/and providing solution

Table 3 Cohort study: (Give the title and its in- text citation)

Critical appraisal questions

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1.Did the study address a clearly focused issue?

Yes/No/Unclear

Evidence: justification, compare and contrasting or/and providing solution

Critical appraisal questions

Select your answer

2.Was the cohort recruited in an acceptable way?

Yes/No/Unclear

Evidence: justification, compare and contrasting or/and providing solution

Critical appraisal questions

Select your answer

3.Was the exposure accurately measured to minimise bias?

Yes/No/Unclear

Evidence: justification, compare and contrasting or/and providing solution

Critical appraisal questions

Select your answer

4.Was the outcome accurately measured to minimise bias?

Yes/No/Unclear

Evidence: justification, compare and contrasting or/and providing solution

Critical appraisal questions

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5(a)Have the authors identified all important confounding factors?

Yes/No/Unclear

Evidence: justification, compare and contrasting or/and providing solution

Critical appraisal questions

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5(b)Have they taken account of the confounding factors in the design and/or analysis?

Yes/No/Unclear

Evidence: justification, compare and contrasting or/and providing solution

Critical appraisal questions

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6(a)Was the follow up of subjects complete enough?

Yes/No/Unclear

Evidence: justification, compare and contrasting or/and providing solution

Critical appraisal questions

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6(b)Was the follow up of subjects long enough?

Yes/No/Unclear

Evidence: justification, compare and contrasting or/and providing solution

Critical appraisal questions

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7.What are the results of this study?

Yes/No/Unclear

Evidence: justification, compare and contrasting or/and providing solution

Critical appraisal questions

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8.How precise are the results?

Yes/No/Unclear

Evidence: justification, compare and contrasting or/and providing solution

Critical appraisal questions

Select your answer

9.Do you believe the results?

Yes/No/Unclear

Evidence: justification, compare and contrasting or/and providing solution

Critical appraisal questions

Select your answer

10.Can the results be applied to the local population?

Yes/No/Unclear

Evidence: justification, compare and contrasting or/and providing solution

Critical appraisal questions

Select your answer

11. Do the results of this study fit with other available evidence?

Yes/No/Unclear

Evidence: justification, compare and contrasting or/and providing solution

Critical appraisal questions

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12.What are the implications of this study for practice?

Yes/No/Unclear

Evidence: justification, compare and contrasting or/and providing solution

Table 4 Randomised controlled trial: (Give the title and its in- text citation)

Critical appraisal questions

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1. Did the trial address a clearly focused research question?