Title: Association of serum lactate dehydrogenase levels with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
and advanced hepatic fibrosis in the United States: a cross-sectional study using NHANES data
from 2007 to 2018
Version: 1 Date: 14 Feb 2025
Reviewer's report:
Thank you for the opportunity to review this work.
This is an interesting and novel study, and I believe some minor revisions and clarifications are
needed in order for future publication.
Specific Comments:
Lines 125-127: You mention that LDH was separated into tertiles, but then describe “quartile”
1,2,3. This should be changed to “tertile” 1,2,3.
Furthermore, what is the justification for turning LDH into a categorical variable? This is
naturally a continuous variable, and you are sacrificing information by categorizing it.
Lines 143-144, 150-153: Again, what is the reason for turning age, BMI, PIR into categories?
These are continuous variables.
Lines 206-208: What is the meaning of “#: 20.977, 95% CI: 15.757-26.197, P < 0.0001.” If LDH
is separated into tertiles, what is this coefficient telling us? I have the same question for the OR
for NAFLD: “OR: 2.717, 95% CI: 2.001-3.688.”
Line 226: Can you explain the nature of this non-linear relationship more? It’s unclear from
just the plot.
Title: Association of serum lactate dehydrogenase levels with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
and advanced hepatic fibrosis in the United States: a cross-sectional study using NHANES data
from 2007 to 2018
Version: 1 Date: 14 Feb 2025
Reviewer's report:
Thank you for the opportunity to review this work.
This is an interesting and novel study, and I believe some minor revisions and clarifications are
needed in order for future publication.
Specific Comments:
Lines 125-127: You mention that LDH was separated into tertiles, but then describe “quartile”
1,2,3. This should be changed to “tertile” 1,2,3.
Furthermore, what is the justification for turning LDH into a categorical variable? This is
naturally a continuous variable, and you are sacrificing information by categorizing it.
Lines 143-144, 150-153: Again, what is the reason for turning age, BMI, PIR into categories?
These are continuous variables.
Lines 206-208: What is the meaning of “#: 20.977, 95% CI: 15.757-26.197, P < 0.0001.” If LDH
is separated into tertiles, what is this coefficient telling us? I have the same question for the OR
for NAFLD: “OR: 2.717, 95% CI: 2.001-3.688.”
Line 226: Can you explain the nature of this non-linear relationship more? It’s unclear from
just the plot.
Please review this paper.
user
Title: Association of serum lactate dehydrogenase levels with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
and advanced hepatic fibrosis in the United States: a cross-sectional study using NHANES data
from 2007 to 2018
Version: 1 Date: 14 Feb 2025
Reviewer's report:
Thank you for the opportunity to review this work.
This is an interesting and novel study, and I believe some minor revisions and clarifications are
needed in order for future publication.
Specific Comments:
Lines 125-127: You mention that LDH was separated into tertiles, but then describe “quartile”
1,2,3. This should be changed to “tertile” 1,2,3.
Furthermore, what is the justification for turning LDH into a categorical variable? This is
naturally a continuous variable, and you are sacrificing information by categorizing it.
Lines 143-144, 150-153: Again, what is the reason for turning age, BMI, PIR into categories?
These are continuous variables.
Lines 206-208: What is the meaning of “#: 20.977, 95% CI: 15.757-26.197, P < 0.0001.” If LDH
is separated into tertiles, what is this coefficient telling us? I have the same question for the OR
for NAFLD: “OR: 2.717, 95% CI: 2.001-3.688.”
Line 226: Can you explain the nature of this non-linear relationship more? It’s unclear from
just the plot.
assistant