COMET Initiative | Variation in outcome reporting in studies on obesity in pregnancy

Variation in outcome reporting in studies on obesity in pregnancy—A systematic review

Although considerable research is being conducted with a view to improve outcomes for pregnant women with obesity and their babies, much of this research is compromised by the quality of outcome reporting. Our aim is to determine how outcomes have been reported and measured in obesity in pregnancy studies, as a first step towards developing a core outcome set to standardize outcome reporting in future trials. We conducted a systematic review of clinical trials and systematic reviews on obesity in pregnancy in accordance with the Preferred Reporting in Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses guidelines. We searched Medline, Embase, controlled register of trials, World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry, www.clinicaltrials.gov and Google Scholar, for relevant studies and extracted study characteristics, outcome reporting and measurement. Reporting quality was assessed using previously published criteria. Outcomes were grouped using a published taxonomy and variations in outcome reporting and measurement were descriptively presented. Seventy included studies yielded a total of 135 outcomes. Foetal/neonatal outcomes were not reported in 53.3% of studies where an intervention could have implications to both, mother and baby. Reported outcomes were mostly physiological/clinical (74.8%), with very limited representation of outcomes related to mortality/survival (5.2%), life impact (7.4%), adverse events (5.9%) and resource utilization (6.7%).

Contributors

Dadouch R1,2, Faheim M3, Susini O4, Sedra S5, Showell M6, D'Souza R2,7,8; COSSOPP investigators.

1 Institute of Medical Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
2 Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Mount Sinai Hospital, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
3 Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
4 Undergraduate Biomedical Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada.
5 Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada.
6 Cochrane Gynaecology and Fertility, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
7 Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Toronto, Canada.
8 Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, Toronto, Canada.

Publication

Journal: Clinical obesity
Volume: 9
Issue: 6
Pages: -
Year: 2019
DOI: 10.1111/cob.12341

Further Study Information

Current Stage: Completed
Date:
Funding source(s): The project is being conducted as part of R.D.'s graduate studies,which have been funded through the Bernard Ludwig Fellowship inObstetrics and Gynaecology (OSOTF).

Health Area

Disease Category: Pregnancy & childbirth

Disease Name: Obesity

Target Population

Age Range: Unknown

Sex: Female

Nature of Intervention: Any

Stakeholders Involved

- None

Study Type

- Systematic review of outcomes measured in trials

Method(s)

- Systematic review