Quality of observational studies in prestigious journals of occupational medicine and health based on Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) Statement: a cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVE: The present study applied the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) statement to observational studies published in prestigious occupational medicine and health journals. RESULTS: A total of 60 articles was evaluated. All sub-items were reported in 63.74% (95% confidence interval [CI], 56.24–71.24%), not reported in 29.70% (95% CI, 20.2–39.2%), and not applicable in 6.56% (95% CI, 4.86–8.26%) of the studies. Of the 45 sub-items investigated in this survey, eight were reported 100% of the time, 13 were addressed in more than 90% of the articles, 22 were included in more than 75% of the studies, and 27 sub-items were applied in more than 50% of the articles published in the journals included in this study. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s13104-018-3367-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.