Table 3 Spin in the abstracts of published articles
Spin categories | Presence of at least one example of spin in the abstract |
|---|---|
n = 128 | |
At least one spin in the abstract | 107 (84.0) |
Misleading reporting | |
Not reporting adverse events or lack of focus on harm | 34 (26.6) |
Selective reporting | 15 (11.8) |
Misleading description of study designs | 1 (0.8) |
Use of linguistic spin or “hype” | 33 (25.8) |
Inadequate interpretation | |
Claim an effect for non-statistically significant results | 7 (5.5) |
Claim equivalence for non-statistically significant results | 13 (10.2) |
Ruling out safety when results are not statistically significant | 15 (11.8) |
Causal language or causal claim | 68 (53.1) |
Claim any difference despite no comparison test performed | 1 (0.8) |
Focus on statistical significance instead of clinical relevance | 1 (0.8) |
Inadequate extrapolation | |
Inadequate extrapolation to larger population, intervention or outcome | 11 (8.6) |
Inadequate implications for clinical practice | 25 (19.5) |
Other | 5 (3.9) |