Characteristics of included studies
| Dichotomous outcome (n=282) | Continuous outcome (n=46) | ||
| No of included primary studies per meta-analysis, median (IQR) | 4 (2–7) | 4 (3–7) | |
| No of included participants per meta-analysis, median (IQR) | 557 (283–1490) | 511 (229–1094.5) | |
| Years of publication (%) | 1998–2000 | 14 (5.0) | 0 (0) |
| 2001–2005 | 27 (9.6) | 10 (21.7) | |
| 2006–2010 | 57 (20.2) | 7 (15.2) | |
| 2011–2015 | 101 (35.8) | 12 (26.1) | |
| 2016–2019 | 83 (29.4) | 17 (37.0) | |
| Outcome type (%) | |||
| Objective outcome | |||
| Survival | 7 (2.5) | 0 (0) | |
| Semiobjective outcomes | |||
| No major morbidity event | 14 (5.0) | 0 (0) | |
| Less drop-outs from the treatment | 11 (3.9) | 0 (0) | |
| Improved obstetric outcomes | 9 (3.2) | 0 (0) | |
| Less resource use/shorter hospital stay | 9 (3.2) | 0 (0) | |
| Improved internal structure | 5 (1.8) | 2 (4.3) | |
| Improved biological markers | 4 (1.4) | 6 (13.0) | |
| Improved external structure | 4 (1.4) | 1 (2.2) | |
| No unpleasant composite endpoint | 4 (1.4) | 0 (0) | |
| No adverse events | 3 (1.1) | 0 (0) | |
| No composite mortality/morbidity events | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | |
| Others (semiobjective) | 1 (0.4) | 6 (13.0) | |
| Subjective outcomes | |||
| Pain relief | 72 (25.5) | 9 (19.6) | |
| Cure of condition | 71 (25.2) | 4 (8.7) | |
| Mental health outcomes improvement | 35 (12.4) | 12 (26.1) | |
| No new signs of infection/disease | 17 (6.0) | 0 (0.0) | |
| Quality of life | 13 (4.6) | 6 (13.0) | |
| Less consumption, satisfaction with care | 1 (0.4) | 0 (0.0) | |
| Others (Subjective) | 2 (0.7) | 0 (0.0) | |
| Conditions (%) | |||
| Mental health and behavioural conditions | 56 (19.9) | 12 (26.1) | |
| Anaesthesia | 48 (17.0) | 3 (6.5) | |
| Central nervous system/ musculoskeletal | 47 (16.7) | 7 (15.2) | |
| Digestive system | 29 (10.3) | 0 (0) | |
| Infectious disease | 26 (9.2) | 1 (2.2) | |
| Respiratory disease | 19 (6.7) | 3 (6.5) | |
| Obstetrics and gynaecology | 16 (5.7) | 2 (4.3) | |
| Cardiovascular | 12 (4.3) | 7 (15.2) | |
| Urogenital | 7 (2.5) | 4 (8.7) | |
| Others | 22 (7.8) | 7 (15.2) | |
| GRADE category (%)* | High | 35 (25.9) | 2 (9.5) |
| Moderate | 53 (39.3) | 5 (23.8) | |
| Low | 36 (26.7) | 13 (61.9) | |
| Very low | 11 (8.1) | 1 (4.8) | |
*A total of 147 dichotomous outcomes and 25 continuous outcomes did not report the GRADE category in their summary of findings table.
GRADE, Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation.