Title: Unraveling the link between Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Perianal Abscess: Insights
from Bidirectional and Multivariable Mendelian Randomization Study
Version: 2 Date: 10 Mar 2025
Reviewer's report:
This study explores the causal relationship between inflammatory bowel disease and perianal
abscess using Mendelian Randomization. Several methodological and interpretational concerns
need to be addressed to strengthen the manuscript’s validity.
Major
1. The authors did not discuss potential weak instrument bias . Besides, consider adding MR-
Steiger filtering to confirm the direction of causality.
2. The de Lange et al. dataset includes a subset of participants from the International IBD
Genetics Consortium , leading to potential sample overlap between the discovery and replication
cohorts. A truly independent is needed for replication.
3. The MVMR model adjusts for BMI, smoking, and diabetes, but no justification is given for
selecting these confounders.
4. Bonferroni correction is recommended for multiple testing, particularly in exploratory
subgroup analyses (e.g., ulcerative ileocolitis and PA).
5. The clinical relevance of findings could be better articulate
Minor
1. some typo in the manuscript. Like “a chronic chronic inflammatory condition that varies in
severity”
Title: Unraveling the link between Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Perianal Abscess: Insights
from Bidirectional and Multivariable Mendelian Randomization Study
Version: 2 Date: 10 Mar 2025
Reviewer's report:
This study explores the causal relationship between inflammatory bowel disease and perianal
abscess using Mendelian Randomization. Several methodological and interpretational concerns
need to be addressed to strengthen the manuscript’s validity.
Major
1. The authors did not discuss potential weak instrument bias . Besides, consider adding MR-
Steiger filtering to confirm the direction of causality.
2. The de Lange et al. dataset includes a subset of participants from the International IBD
Genetics Consortium , leading to potential sample overlap between the discovery and replication
cohorts. A truly independent is needed for replication.
3. The MVMR model adjusts for BMI, smoking, and diabetes, but no justification is given for
selecting these confounders.
4. Bonferroni correction is recommended for multiple testing, particularly in exploratory
subgroup analyses (e.g., ulcerative ileocolitis and PA).
5. The clinical relevance of findings could be better articulate
Minor
1. some typo in the manuscript. Like “a chronic chronic inflammatory condition that varies in
severity”
Please review this paper.
user
Title: Unraveling the link between Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Perianal Abscess: Insights
from Bidirectional and Multivariable Mendelian Randomization Study
Version: 2 Date: 10 Mar 2025
Reviewer's report:
This study explores the causal relationship between inflammatory bowel disease and perianal
abscess using Mendelian Randomization. Several methodological and interpretational concerns
need to be addressed to strengthen the manuscript’s validity.
Major
1. The authors did not discuss potential weak instrument bias . Besides, consider adding MR-
Steiger filtering to confirm the direction of causality.
2. The de Lange et al. dataset includes a subset of participants from the International IBD
Genetics Consortium , leading to potential sample overlap between the discovery and replication
cohorts. A truly independent is needed for replication.
3. The MVMR model adjusts for BMI, smoking, and diabetes, but no justification is given for
selecting these confounders.
4. Bonferroni correction is recommended for multiple testing, particularly in exploratory
subgroup analyses (e.g., ulcerative ileocolitis and PA).
5. The clinical relevance of findings could be better articulate
Minor
1. some typo in the manuscript. Like “a chronic chronic inflammatory condition that varies in
severity”
assistant