Table 1 Articles and randomized controlled trials (RCTs) included in the final sample
Characteristic | Articles represented N = 416 | RCTs included N = 437 |
|---|---|---|
Journal of publication | Â | Â |
 Annals | 36 (9) | 37 (8) |
 British Medical Journal | 47 (11) | 48 (11) |
 Journal of the American Medical Association | 72 (17) | 76 (17) |
 Lancet | 115 (28) | 123 (28) |
 New England Journal of Medicine | 146 (35) | 153 (35) |
Year of publication | Â | Â |
 2007 | 113 (27) | 119 (27) |
 2010 | 140 (34) | 144 (33) |
 2013–2014 | 163 (39) | 174 (40) |
Biostatistician as coauthor | 239 (57) | 254 (58) |
Medical condition under study | -- | Â |
 Cardiovascular |  | 101 (23) |
 Infectious disease |  | 82 (19) |
 Cancer |  | 59 (14) |
 Psychiatry/neurology |  | 40 (9) |
 Autoimmune, including diabetes |  | 37 (8) |
 Pulmonary/critical care |  | 29 (7) |
 Obstetrics/gynecological |  | 21 (5) |
 Other chronic disease |  | 41 (9) |
 Other, uncategorized |  | 27 (6) |
First author’s region | -- |  |
 North America |  | 185 (42) |
 Europe |  | 188 (43) |
 Other |  | 64 (15) |
Funding | -- | Â |
 Industry funding |  | 188 (43) |
 No industry funding |  | 249 (57) |
Significance of the primary outcomea | -- | Â |
 Not significant |  | 153 (36) |
 Significant |  | 277 (64) |
Study design | -- | Â |
 Parallel group |  | 425 (97) |
 Crossover |  | 12 (3) |
Analysis reported | -- | Â |
 Subgroup analysis with appropriate methods |  | 185 (42) |
 Subgroup analysis without appropriate methods |  | 85 (19) |
 No subgroup analysis |  | 167 (38) |
Sample size | -- | 506 (7–170,432) |