SynthesisJournal of exposure science & environmental epidemiology2021
Challenges and recommendations on the conduct of systematic reviews of observational epidemiologic studies in environmental and occupational health.
Synthesis in Journal of exposure science & environmental epidemiology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Airborne contaminant exposure and bone development: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Toxicological sciences : an official journal of the Society of Toxicology · 2026Pooled it
- Neighborhood infrastructure-related risk factors and non-communicable diseases: a systematic meta-review.Environmental health : a global access science source · 2023Pooled it
- Occupational health outcomes among sanitation workers: A systematic review and meta-analysis.International journal of hygiene and environmental health · 2022Pooled it
- Assessments of risk of bias in systematic reviews of observational nutritional epidemiologic studies are often not appropriate or comprehensive: a methodological study.BMJ nutrition, prevention & health · 2021Pooled it
- Is endometriosis associated with poor sleep quality? A meta-analysis.Women's health (London, England)Pooled it
- GRADE concept article: Evaluating risk of bias in a body of evidence from studies of environmental and other exposures.Environment international · 2026Article
- A Pilot Project Leveraging Large Language Models for Automated Screening and Variable Extraction in Observational Studies.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026Article
- Conducting evidence synthesis and developing evidence-based advice in public health and beyond: A scoping review and map of methods guidance.Research synthesis methods · 2026Article
- Synthesis challenges in complex evidence: A critical analysis of systematic reviews of face mask efficacy.Research synthesis methods · 2026Article
- Levels of Uranium in Soil and Dust and Their Associated Chemical Risks to Human Health: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Environmental health insights · 2026Review
- Integrating chemical-specific information with general approaches to assessing exposure measurement bias in systematic reviews.Environment international · 2025Article
- Addressing Critiques of the Evidence Linking Fluoride and Children's IQ.Annals of global health · 2025Article
- Epidemiological criteria for causation applied to human health harms from RF-EMF exposure: Bradford Hill revisited.Frontiers in public health · 2025Review
- Systems for rating bodies of evidence used in systematic reviews of air pollution exposure and reproductive and children's health: a methodological survey.Environmental health : a global access science source · 2024Review
- Association of Repeated Blood Cultures With Mortality in Adult Patients With Gram-Negative Bacilli Bacteremia: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Open forum infectious diseases · 2022Article
- Cancer Hazard Evaluations for Contemporary Needs: Highlights From New National Toxicology Program Evaluations and Methodological Advancements.Journal of the National Cancer Institute · 2022Article
- Scoping Review of 5 Common Occupational Cancers and Their Related Exposures.Medical journal of the Islamic Republic of Iran · 2022Article
- The effect of exposure to radiofrequency fields on cancer risk in the general and working population: A protocol for a systematic review of human observational studies.Environment international · 2021Article
- Occupational Exposure to Carcinogens and Occupational Epidemiological Cancer Studies in Iran: A Review.Cancers · 2021Review
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Systematic reviews are powerful tools for drawing causal inference for evidence-based decision-making. Published systematic reviews and meta-analyses of environmental and occupational epidemiology studies have increased dramatically in recent years; however, the quality and utility of published reviews are variable. Most methodologies were adapted from clinical epidemiology and have not been adequately modified to evaluate and integrate evidence from observational epidemiology studies assessing environmental and occupational hazards, especially in evaluating the quality of exposure assessments. Although many reviews conduct a systematic and transparent assessment for the potential for bias, they are often deficient in subsequently integrating across a body of evidence. A cohesive review considers the impact of the direction and magnitude of potential biases on the results, systematically evaluates important scientific issues such as study sensitivity and effect modifiers, identifies how different studies complement each other, and assesses other potential sources of heterogeneity. Given these challenges of conducting informative systematic reviews of observational studies, we provide a series of specific recommendations based on practical examples for cohesive evidence integration to reach an overall conclusion on a body of evidence to better support policy making in public health.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.