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Schizophrenia trials in China: a survey
A Chakrabarti1, C E Adams, J Rathbone
1General Adult Psychiatry, Newsam Centre, Seacroft Hospital, York Road, Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK. abhijitchakrabarti@yahoo.co.uk
Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica
|June 15, 2007
Summary
Researchers must search Chinese randomized controlled trials (RCTs) for schizophrenia to avoid bias in systematic reviews. Most studies are in Mandarin but accessible with English search terms, offering valuable global insights.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical research
- Psychiatry
- Clinical trials
Background:
- China's biomedical research output is rapidly expanding.
- Schizophrenia research is increasingly published online.
- Accessibility of Chinese research is improving.
Purpose of the Study:
- To survey all randomized controlled trials (RCTs) for schizophrenia within a major Chinese bibliographic database.
- To assess the global accessibility of this research.
Main Methods:
- Electronic search of the Chinese Academic Journals database for schizophrenia RCTs.
- Cross-referencing citations on PubMed to determine international discoverability.
- Analysis of language, participant numbers, and intervention/outcome familiarity.
Main Results:
- Identified 982 schizophrenia RCTs from 3275 records.
- 71% of studies were discoverable using English search terms.
- All primary content was in Mandarin; average trial size was 100 participants.
- Only 4 (<1%) of the identified RCTs were found on PubMed.
Conclusions:
- Systematic reviews on schizophrenia must include Chinese literature to prevent bias and random error.
- Excluding Chinese RCTs can lead to incomplete and potentially skewed review findings.
- Researchers should actively search Chinese databases for comprehensive systematic reviews.
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