SynthesisPhilosophical transactions. Series A, Mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences2023
Effectiveness of face masks for reducing transmission of SARS-CoV-2: a rapid systematic review.
Synthesis in Philosophical transactions. Series A, Mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 30 papers, 3 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
30 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 48 citations in OpenAlex.
- Safety implications of mask use: a systematic review and evidence map.BMJ evidence-based medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Effects of non-pharmaceutical interventions on COVID-19 transmission: rapid review of evidence from Italy, the United States, the United Kingdom, and China.Frontiers in public health · 2024Pooled it
- Effectiveness of face masks for reducing transmission of SARS-CoV-2: a rapid systematic review.Philosophical transactions. Series A, Mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences · 2023Pooled it
- Impacts of relaxed mask policies on COVID-19 epidemics: a modeling study in South Korea.BMC infectious diseases · 2026Article
- The effect of personality on likelihood of contracting SARS-CoV-2 in the United States.Personality and individual differences · 2026Article
- Synthesis challenges in complex evidence: A critical analysis of systematic reviews of face mask efficacy.Research synthesis methods · 2026Article
- Article
- Comparative analysis of DNA collection techniques applied to disposable 3-layer earloop face masks.Forensic sciences research · 2025Article
- Comparative Assessment of Viral Load Retention in Surgical and Fabric Masks Worn by COVID-19 Patients.Viruses · 2025Article
- Quality improvement needed for rapid review reports: a literature quality assessment based on Cochrane RR evidence-based methodology.Systematic reviews · 2025Article
- Uncovering the wider impact of COVID-19 public health measures on the lives of children with complex care needs and their families in the Canadian Maritimes: a qualitative study.BMJ paediatrics open · 2025Article
- Exploring Topics, Emotions, and Sentiments in Health Organization Posts and Public Responses on Instagram: Content Analysis.JMIR infodemiology · 2025Article
- Ear, nose and throat disorders and international travel.Tropical diseases, travel medicine and vaccines · 2025Review
- Who Cares If Not Supposed To? Moral Foundations, Consideration of Immediate Consequences, and Mask-Wearing Intentions After Revocation of the Legal Obligation To Do So.Europe's journal of psychology · 2025Article
- Respiratory symptom patterns in healthcare workers in Germany: a prospective study during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.Frontiers in public health · 2025Observational
- Impact of face masks on empathy and communication in head and neck cancer patients: a case-control study.Frontiers in oncology · 2025Article
- Article
- WHO'Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Identifying the main drivers of transmission in the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in Portugal.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Ideological Consistency and News Sharing as Predictors of Masking Among College Students.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
12 authors at 6 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
This rapid systematic review of evidence asks whether (i) wearing a face mask, (ii) one type of mask over another and (iii) mandatory mask policies can reduce the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 infection, either in community-based or healthcare settings. A search of studies published 1 January 2020-27 January 2023 yielded 5185 unique records. Due to a paucity of randomized controlled trials (RCTs), observational studies were included in the analysis. We analysed 35 studies in community settings (three RCTs and 32 observational) and 40 in healthcare settings (one RCT and 39 observational). Ninety-five per cent of studies included were conducted before highly transmissible Omicron variants emerged. Ninety-one per cent of observational studies were at 'critical' risk of bias (ROB) in at least one domain, often failing to separate the effects of masks from concurrent interventions. More studies found that masks (
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Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.