2.9 | Synthesis
The meta-analysis will be conducted using RevMan 5.4.Since the outcome
indicators in this study are all continuous variables and the assessment
tools for the outcome indicators are different, the standard mean
difference (SMD) was chosen as the effect indicator and its 95% CI is
provided.When SMD is used, if the direction of the unit of measure is
opposite between the scales, the Measurement means of the corresponding
scales were multiplied by -1 so that all scales had the same unit of
measure orientation. The χ2 test andI2 statistic were used to determine the
heterogeneity of the included studies. If P >0.1 and I2 <50%, it indicated that the
heterogeneity was small and a fixed-effects model was selected for the
analysis; if P ≤ 0.1 and I2 ≥ 50%, it
indicated that there was a significant heterogeneity, and further
judgment was needed to determine the source of the heterogeneity, and a
random-effects model was selected for the analysis after eliminating the
interference of significant clinical heterogeneity. Clinical and
methodological heterogeneity was handled by subgroup analysis and
sensitivity analysis, or descriptive analysis.