Searching for randomized controlled trials and systematic reviews on exercise. A descriptive study

CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE:The current paradigm of science is to accumulate as much research data as possible, with less thought given to navigation or synthesis of the resulting mass, which hampers locating and using the research. The aim here was to describe the number of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and systematic reviews (SRs) focusing on exercise, and their journal sources, that have been indexed in PubMed over time.DESIGN AND SETTING:Descriptive study conducted at Bond University, Australia.METHOD:To find RCTs, a search was conducted in PubMed Clinical Queries, using the category "Therapy" and the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) term "Exercise". To find SRs, a search was conducted in PubMed Clinical Queries, using the category "Therapy", the MeSH term "Exercise" and various methodological filters.RESULTS:Up until 2011, 9,354 RCTs about exercise were published in 1,250 journals and 1,262 SRs in 513 journals. Journals in the area of Sports Science published the greatest number of RCTs and journals categorized as belonging to "Other health professions" area (for example nursing or psychology) published the greatest number of SRs. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews was the principal source for SRs, with 9.8% of the total, while the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research and Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise published 4.4% and 5.0% of the RCTs, respectively.CONCLUSIONS:The rapid growth and resulting scatter of RCTs and SRs on exercise presents challenges for locating and using this research. Solutions for this issue need to be considered.背景与研究目的：当前科学研究的主流范式是尽可能多地积累研究数据，却鲜有对海量研究成果进行梳理与整合的考量，这一现状阻碍了相关研究的检索与使用。本研究旨在描述随时间推移，在PubMed中收录的以运动为主题的随机对照试验（randomized controlled trials, RCTs）与系统评价（systematic reviews, SRs）的数量及其期刊来源分布。 研究设计与研究地点：本研究为在澳大利亚邦德大学（Bond University）开展的描述性研究。 研究方法：针对随机对照试验的检索，在PubMed临床查询（PubMed Clinical Queries）中以“治疗”类别与医学主题词（Medical Subject Headings, MeSH）“运动”进行检索；针对系统评价的检索，则在PubMed临床查询中以“治疗”类别、医学主题词“运动”结合多种方法学过滤器开展检索。 研究结果：截至2011年，共有9354项运动相关随机对照试验发表于1250种期刊，1262项运动相关系统评价发表于513种期刊。其中，运动科学领域期刊发表的随机对照试验数量最多，而归类为“其他卫生专业”领域（如护理学、心理学）的期刊发表的系统评价数量最多。系统评价的主要来源为《Cochrane系统评价数据库（Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews）》，占总发文量的9.8%；《力量与体能研究杂志（Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research）》与《运动与锻炼医学与科学（Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise）》分别发表了4.4%与5.0%的随机对照试验。 结论：运动相关随机对照试验与系统评价的快速增长及其成果的分散化，为该领域研究的检索与使用带来了挑战，亟需探索相应的解决策略。