Skip to main content

Table 1 Categories to guide the assessment of homogeneity

From: The association between depressive symptoms or depression and health outcomes in adults with low back pain with or without radiculopathy: protocol of a systematic review

Category

Descriptiona

1A

Population: type of LBP

- LBP without radiculopathy OR

- LBP with radiculopathy

1B

Population: duration of LBP

- Acute/subacute (< 12 weeks’ duration) OR

- Chronic (≥ 12 weeks’ duration)

2A

Exposure: type of condition

- Depressive symptoms OR

- Depression

2B

Exposure: severity of condition

- Mild (e.g., mild depression) OR

- Severe (e.g., severe depression)

3

Outcome: type

- Pain intensity

- LBP-related disability

- Health-related quality of life

- Type of health care utilization (e.g., family physician visit, specialist visit, or spinal radiograph)

  1. LBP low back pain
  2. aDescribes how studies within the listed categories would be considered homogeneous (e.g., studies targeting the following would be considered homogeneous: (1) chronic LBP without radiculopathy as the population, (2) severe depression as the exposure, and (3) pain intensity as the outcome)