Reporting quality of meta-analysis on genetic association studies published in Chinese journals

ObjectiveTo evaluate reporting quality of meta-analysis on genetic association studies published in Chinese journals.MethodsMeta-analysis of genetic association studies published in Chinese journals until December 2012 were searched through 4 Chinese electronic databases(China Biomedicine Database,China Knowledge Resource Integrated Database,Wanfang Data,and VIP Information).Articles selected by two researchers independently under definite inclusion and exclusion criteria were included in this study(consulting a third researcher if inconsistent opinions existed).Meta-analysis of observational studies in epidemiology(MOOSE)checklist was used to evaluate the reporting quality.ResultsTotally 440 articles were included in this study.Among the articles,0.7% stated their research hypotheses;72.7% reported their search strategies;15.2% reported the method of handling abstracts and unpublished studies;47.3% documented how data were classified and coded;32.7% reported the assessment of study quality;8.6% had graphic summarizing individual study estimates and overall estimate;and 32.0%disclosed the funding source.ConclusionMeta-analyses on genetic association studies published in Chinese journals should be improved in reporting quality,especially in statement of hypothesis,search strategy,method of handling grey literature,method of study selection,assessment of study quality,reporting flow chart,and disclosure of funding source.