Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE): Explanation and Elaboration

• Jan P Vandenbroucke,

  Affiliation Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands

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• Erik von Elm,

  Affiliations Institute of Social & Preventive Medicine (ISPM), University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland , Department of Medical Biometry and Medical Informatics, University Medical Centre, Freiburg, Germany

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• Douglas G Altman,

  Affiliation Cancer Research UK/NHS Centre for Statistics in Medicine, Oxford, United Kingdom

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• Peter C Gøtzsche,

  Affiliation Nordic Cochrane Centre, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark

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• Cynthia D Mulrow,

  Affiliation University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, United States of America

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• Stuart J Pocock,

  Affiliation Medical Statistics Unit, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom

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• Charles Poole,

  Affiliation Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina School of Public Health, Chapel Hill, United States of America

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• James J Schlesselman,

  Affiliation Department of Biostatistics, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, and University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh, United States of America

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• Matthias Egger ,

  *To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: strobe@ispm.unibe.ch

  Affiliations Institute of Social & Preventive Medicine (ISPM), University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland , Department of Social Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom

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• for the STROBE Initiative