Quality of reviews in epidemiology

Abstract

Objectives. This study examined the quality of recent reviews in epidemiology. Methods. All 1995 issues of 7 widely read epidemiology journals were searched to identify reviews. Results. Twenty-nine reviews were identified. Methodology was not specified or incomplete for literature searches in 79% or reviews, the same was true for inclusion criteria in 83% and for combining studies in 62%. More than 60% of the reviews were not methodologically systematic. Conclusions. There is a need to improve the quality of review papers in epidemiology. If systematic methodology were followed more frequently, epidemiologic science and its application could be improved.