Article type
Year
Abstract
Background: At present there are few validated scales for risk of bias assessment in systematic reviews of cohort studies. We have attempted to compare the Newcastle Ottawa scale (NOS) and Agency for Health Research and Quality (AHRQ) for a systematic review on cohort studies correlating childhood anthropometric measures and adult non communicable diseases.
Objectives: To compare the Newcastle Ottawa scale (NOS) and Agency for Health Research and Quality (AHRQ) as risk of bias assessment tools for cohort studies.
Methods: We have compared the above two risk of bias assessment tools for a systematic review aimed at evaluating the association of childhood anthropometric measures and adult cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The NOS contains eight items that are designed to assess cohort studies on the basis of selection of cohorts, comparability of cohorts and assessment of exposure and outcome. The AHRQ risk of bias assessment tool contains eight items that assess selection, detection, attrition, selective reporting bias, and bias due to confounding. An overall score was generated for each study based on the number of items identified as having a low risk of bias.
Results: Two reviewers independently scored ten studies with the two tools and calculated the inter-observer variability (kappa) score to be 95%. The NOS and AHRQ have significant overlaps but the NOS included additional points about the duration of length of follow-up and whether the outcome assessed w
Conclusions: Both the tools have scored similar results, but performing quality assessment by NOS was simpler.
Acknowledgment: The study was supported by ICMR, India and World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland
Objectives: To compare the Newcastle Ottawa scale (NOS) and Agency for Health Research and Quality (AHRQ) as risk of bias assessment tools for cohort studies.
Methods: We have compared the above two risk of bias assessment tools for a systematic review aimed at evaluating the association of childhood anthropometric measures and adult cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The NOS contains eight items that are designed to assess cohort studies on the basis of selection of cohorts, comparability of cohorts and assessment of exposure and outcome. The AHRQ risk of bias assessment tool contains eight items that assess selection, detection, attrition, selective reporting bias, and bias due to confounding. An overall score was generated for each study based on the number of items identified as having a low risk of bias.
Results: Two reviewers independently scored ten studies with the two tools and calculated the inter-observer variability (kappa) score to be 95%. The NOS and AHRQ have significant overlaps but the NOS included additional points about the duration of length of follow-up and whether the outcome assessed w
Conclusions: Both the tools have scored similar results, but performing quality assessment by NOS was simpler.
Acknowledgment: The study was supported by ICMR, India and World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland