ObjectiveTo investigate the extent of overlap between Chinese systematic reviews (SRs) and Cochrane SRs in the field of stroke. MethodsThe CNKI, WanFang Data, CBM and Cochrane Library databases were searched to collect Chinese SRs and Cochrane SRs in the field of stroke published from 2012 to 2022. By extracting population (P), intervention (I), comparison (C), and outcome (O) of all interventional SRs in the stroke field to analyse the extent of overlap of SRs. The basic information and research information of SRs with overlapping PICOs were further extracted to conduct descriptive analysis. ResultsA total of 1 303 SRs were included, involving 1 192 Chinese SRs and 111 Cochrane SRs in the field of stroke. The overlapping analysis found that 128 Chinese SRs overlapped with 29 (26.1%) of the 111 Cochrane SRs. Most (127/128, 99.2%) Chinese SRs were published later than Cochrane SRs. The year of publication of overlapping SRs showed a trend of increasing year by year. ConclusionThe SR work carried out by scholars in China has the problem of overlapping studies that cannot be ignored, and the lack of strict regulation and guidance in methods such as registration, protocol writing, and literature search has resulted in a great waste of resources. It is necessary to further strengthen regulatory constraints and guidance, adhere to problem orientation and quality awareness, strengthen SR training, and reduce overlapping research.
