Supplementary Material for: Evaluation of Spin in the Abstracts of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses of Atopic Dermatitis Treatments and Interventions

<b><i>Background:</i></b> Spin – the misrepresentation of a study’s results – has been identified in abstracts of studies focused on a variety of disorders from multiple fields of medicine. <b><i>Objectives:</i></b> This study’s primary objective was to evaluate the abstracts of systematic reviews and meta-analyses focused on the treatment of atopic dermatitis for the nine most severe forms of spin. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> We systematically searched Embase and MEDLINE for systematic reviews of atopic dermatitis therapies. Screening and data extraction occurred in a masked, duplicate fashion. Each included study was evaluated for the nine most severe types of spin and other study characteristics. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Our searches retrieved 2,456 studies, of which 113 were included for data extraction. Spin was found in 74.3% of our included studies (84/113). Spin type 6 occurred most frequently (68/113, 60.2%). Spin types 1, 2, and 9 were not identified. All industry-funded systematic reviews contained spin in their abstract. The presence of spin was not associated with any specific study characteristics, including the methodological quality of the study. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> Severe forms of spin were found in the majority of abstracts for systematic reviews of atopic dermatitis treatments. Steps should be taken to prevent spin to improve the quality of reporting in abstracts.

<b><i>背景：</i></b> 结果歪曲（spin）——即对研究结果的不实阐释——已在多个医学领域针对各类疾病的研究摘要中被检出。<b><i>目标：</i></b> 本研究的核心目的为评估针对特应性皮炎（atopic dermatitis）治疗的系统评价（systematic reviews）与荟萃分析（meta-analyses）摘要中，九种最严重的结果歪曲类型的存在情况。<b><i>方法：</i></b> 我们系统检索了Embase与MEDLINE数据库中关于特应性皮炎治疗的系统评价文献。文献筛选与数据提取采用盲法、重复操作的方式开展。对每一篇纳入研究的文献，均评估其是否存在九种严重结果歪曲类型及其他研究特征。<b><i>结果：</i></b> 本次检索共获取2456篇文献，其中113篇被纳入数据提取环节。纳入研究中有74.3%（84/113）存在结果歪曲。其中第6型结果歪曲最为常见（68/113，60.2%），未检出第1、2、9型结果歪曲。所有由企业资助的系统评价摘要均存在结果歪曲。结果歪曲的存在与任何特定研究特征均无关联，包括研究的方法学质量。<b><i>结论：</i></b> 针对特应性皮炎治疗的系统评价摘要中，多数存在严重的结果歪曲。应采取相应措施防范结果歪曲，以提升研究摘要的报告质量。