Table 2 Methodologic assessment of study design quality using an adaptation of the quality index [16]. Numbering refers to the quality index item
From: Step width variability as a discriminator of age-related gait changes
ITEM | STUDY | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Almarwani et al. (2016a) [39] | Almarwani et al. (2016b) [40] | Decker et al. (2016) [41] | Ihlen et al. (2012) [42] | Kang et al. (2008) [43] | Lovden et al. (2008) [38] | Marigold et al. (2008) [44] | Owings et al. (2004a) [45] | Paterson et al. (2009) [46] | Thies et al. (2005) [47] | Woledge et al. (2005) [48] | |
1. Is the hypothesis/aim/objective of the study clearly described? | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
2. Are the main outcomes to be measured clearly described in the Introduction or Methods section? | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
3. Are the characteristics of the participants included in the study clearly described? | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
5. Are the distributions of the principal confounders in each group of subjects to be compared clearly described? | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
6. Are the main findings of the study clearly described? | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
7. Does the study provide estimates of the random variability in the data for the main outcomes? | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
10. Have actual probability values been reported (e.g. 0.035 rather than < 0.05) for the main outcomes except where the probability value is less than 0.001? | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
11. Were the subjects asked to participate in the study representative of the entire population from which they were recruited? | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
12. Were those subjects who were prepared to participate representative of the entire population from which they were recruited? | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
13. Were the staff, place and facilities where the study was set representative of a laboratory environment? | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
16. If any of the results of the study were based on “data dredging”, was this made clear? | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
20. Were the main outcome measures used accurate (valid and reliable)? | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
21. Were the subjects recruited from the same population? | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
22. Were study subjects recruited over a defined period of time? | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
25. Was there adequate adjustment for confounding in the analysis from which the main findings were drawn? | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
27. Did the study have a power analysis? | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
TOTAL | 14 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 11 | 11 | 14 | 13 |