Barker Timothy H, Hasanoff Sabira, Aromataris Edoardo, Stone Jennifer C, Leonardi-Bee Jo, Sears Kim, Habibi Nahal, Klugar Miloslav, Tufanaru Catalin, Moola Sandeep, Liu Xian-Liang, Munn Zachary
JBI, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
Health Evidence Synthesis, Recommendations and Impact (HESRI), School of Public Health, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
JBI Evid Synth. 2025 Mar 1;23(3):441-453. doi: 10.11124/JBIES-24-00103. Epub 2024 Aug 22.
Cohort studies are a robust analytical observational study design that explore the difference in outcomes between two cohorts, differentiated by their exposure status. Despite being observational in nature, they are often included in systematic reviews of effectiveness, particularly when randomized controlled trials are limited or not feasible. Like all studies included in a systematic review, cohort studies must undergo a critical appraisal process to assess the extent to which a study has considered potential bias in its design, conduct, or analysis. Critical appraisal tools facilitate this evaluation. This paper introduces the revised critical appraisal tool for cohort studies, completed by the JBI Effectiveness Methodology Group, who are currently revising the suite of JBI critical appraisal tools for quantitative study designs. The revised tool responds to updates in methodological guidance from the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) Working Group and reporting guidance from PRISMA 2020, providing a robust framework for evaluating risk of bias in a cohort study. Transparent and rigorous assessment using this tool will assist reviewers in understanding the validity and relevance of the results and conclusions drawn from a systematic review that includes cohort studies. This may contribute to better evidence-based decision-making in health care. This paper discusses the key changes made to the tool, outlines justifications for these changes, and provides practical guidance on how this tool should be interpreted and applied by systematic reviewers.
队列研究是一种强大的分析性观察性研究设计，用于探索两个队列之间在结局上的差异，这两个队列根据其暴露状况进行区分。尽管队列研究本质上是观察性的，但它们通常被纳入有效性的系统评价中，尤其是在随机对照试验有限或不可行的时候。与系统评价中纳入的所有研究一样，队列研究必须经过严格评价过程，以评估一项研究在其设计、实施或分析中考虑潜在偏倚的程度。严格评价工具有助于进行这种评估。本文介绍了由JBI有效性方法学小组完成的队列研究修订版严格评价工具，该小组目前正在修订用于定量研究设计的JBI严格评价工具套件。修订后的工具回应了推荐分级、评估、制定与评价（GRADE）工作组方法学指南的更新以及PRISMA 2020报告指南，为评估队列研究中的偏倚风险提供了一个强大的框架。使用该工具进行透明且严格的评估将有助于评审人员理解从包含队列研究的系统评价中得出的结果和结论的有效性及相关性。这可能有助于在医疗保健中做出更好的基于证据的决策。本文讨论了对该工具所做的关键更改，概述了这些更改的理由，并为系统评价人员应如何解释和应用该工具提供了实用指南。
