Table 2

Number of studies and comparisons reporting on the presence or absence of differential effectiveness and effectiveness ratios for each outcome

Less effective for lower SEPEqually effectiveMore effective for lower SEP
Physical activity (n=7, k=32)Qualitative information(n=6, k=27)20–25(n=1, k=1)24
Quantitative information(n=2, k=4), ratio 0.65:2.1921 26n/a
Smoking cessation (n=6, k=16)Qualitative information(n=2, k=9)20 29n/a
Quantitative information(n=4, k=6), ratio 0.74:3.0426–28 30(n=1, k=1), ratio 3.3630
Nutrition (n=6, k=19)Qualitative information(n=5, k=13)21–23 27 28n/a
Quantitative information(n=1, k=3), ratio 0.54:0.8826(n=2, k=3), ratio 2.18:3.3521 27
BMI/body weight (n=5, k=8)Qualitative information(n=3, k=5)22 23 32(n=1, k=2)24
Quantitative informationn/a(n=1, k=1), ratio 1.6531
TotalQualitative information(n=10, k=54)20–25 27–29 32(n=1, k=3)24
Quantitative information(n=5, k=13), ratio 0.54:3.0421 26–28 30(n=4, k=5), ratio 1.65:3.3621 27 30 31
  • The sum of studies is higher than 13 because some studies test multiple comparisons of differential effectiveness with different results.

  • BMI, body mass index; k, number of comparisons; n, number of studies; n/a, not available; SEP, socioeconomic position.