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Brief communication Prevalence and methodological quality of systematic reviews in Korean medical journals
Seong Jung Kim1orcid , Mi Ah Han2orcid , Jae Hung Jung3,4orcid , Eu Chang Hwang5orcid , Hae Ran Kim6orcid , Sang-Eun Yoon7orcid , Seo-Hee Kim2,7orcid , Pius Kim8orcid , So-Yeong Kim2orcid
Epidemiol Health 2022;e2023017
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4178/epih.e2023017 [Accepted]
Published online: February 6, 2023
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1Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Chosun University, Gwangju, Korea
2Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Medicine, Chosun University, Gwangju, Korea
3Department of Urology, Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine, Wonju, Korea
4Center of Evidence Based Medicine, Institute of Convergence Science, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea
5Department of Urology, Chonnam National University Medical School, Chonnam National University Hwasun Hospital, Hwasun, Korea
6Department of Nursing, College of Medicine, Chosun University, Gwangju, Korea
7Department of Public Health, Graduate School, Chosun University, Gwangju, Korea
8Department of Neurosurgery, College of Medicine, Chosun University, Gwangju, Korea
Corresponding author:  Mi Ah Han,
Email: mahan@chosun.ac.kr
Received: 25 July 2022   • Revised: 5 December 2022   • Accepted: 5 January 2023
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Abstract

This study aimed to assess and evaluate the prevalence and methodological quality of systematic reviews (SRs) published in major Korean medical journals (KMJs). The top 15 journals with the highest Korean Medical Citation Index, published between 2018 to 2021, were selected. We assessed the methodological quality of SRs using A Measurement Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews 2 (AMSTAR 2). In total, 126 SRs were included, with an average of 32 SRs being reported annually. The overall prevalence of SRs in KMJs was 2.8%, with an increase from 2.6% in 2018 to 3.4% in 2021. Overall, the methodological quality of SRs was low (9.5% low, 90.5% critically low). More than 80% of the studies adhered to critical domain items such as a comprehensive literature search and risk of bias assessment, but for items such as protocol registration and listing excluded studies and the justification for exclusion, the adherence rate was less than 15%. While the number of SRs in KMJs steadily increased, the overall confidence in the methodological quality was low to critically low. Therefore, in order to provide the best evidence for decision-making in clinical and public health areas, editors, reviewers, and authors need to pay more attention to improving the quality of SRs.

Epidemiol Health : Epidemiology and Health
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