Table 1

Cross-sectional study: Association between obesity indices and type 2 diabetes mellitus among middle-aged and elderly people in Jinan, China: a cross-sectional study Critical appraisal question

1. Were the criteria for inclusion in the sample clearly defined? Yes/No/Unclear

Evidence: Wang et al (2016) stated that the criteria of inclusion in the sample were clearly stated as people above the age of 50 with desired evidence were only to be included in the research. In this particular case study, a total of 3277 inhabitants over the age of 50 were eligible for this study, but 1563 individuals were disbarred since they ceased to provide the required anthropometric data, such as height, mass, waist measurement, waist-hip ratio, blood pressure systolic and diastolic fasting glucose metabolism, triglyceride, and cholesterol levels, in addition to details about their medication management use. Therefore, the final data included 1714 people.

2.Were the study subjects and the setting described in detail?

Evidence: The subject of the study was clearly defined. The aim of the study was to analyze how geographic position and racial composition influence the correlation between type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and obesity. Wang et al (2016) mentioned that the objective was to further emphasize and investigate the proportion of T2DM and the percentage of individuals without a diagnosis. In addition, to examine the correlations between various obesity indices and T2DM among middle-aged and elderly individuals from six areas in Jinan, China.

The setting seemed to be unclear. It is only stated in the article that the study participants were taken in a random way from blocks within each of Jinan, China’s six communities in a cross-sectional study done in 2011 and 2012.