Reviewer's report 
 The Canadian Celiac Health Survey - The Ottawa Chapter Pilot Title: 
Authors: 
Dr Ann B Cranney ( cranneya@kgh.kari.net )
Marion Zarkadas ( czarkadas@sympatico.ca )
Dr Ian ID Graham Dr. ( igraham@ohri.ca )
Connie C Switzer Dr. ( cmswitzer@shaw.ca )
 1  17 Mar 2003 Version: Date: 
 Carlo Catassi Reviewer: 
 A paper whose findings are important to those with closely related research Level of interest: 
interests 
 Unable to decide on acceptance or rejection until the authors have Advice on publication: 
responded to the compulsory revisions 
This is an interesting paper describing the results of a survey performed among members of the 
Ottawa Chapter Celiac Society. Unfortunately some results are not easily interpreted (e.g. on the 
frequency of associated medical conditions in first-degree relatives and on quality of life) due to lack 
of a control group of non-celiac subjects. In my opinion the manuscript could be greatly improved by taking into consideration the following suggestions: 
* An important information is missing: was (or in which percentage was) the diagnosis of celiac 
disease biopsy-based ? If not, patients with non-celiac gluten intolerance could be erroneously included in this survey. A clue to the possible inclusion of gluten intolerant patients is the very high 
percentage of subjects (64 %) reporting symptoms following an accidental ingestion of gluten, which 
is probably more than expected in "true" celiac disease. 
* The discussion section is excessively short. The results of the survey should be discussed in the perspective of (1) the variable awareness of celiac disease in different countries, as shown by 
similar surveys in Europe and North America , e.g. see the excellent Green's paper published on the 
Am J Gastroenterol and quoted as reference 3; (2) the changing situation in Canada, by comparison 
with the 1989 Survey by Davidson and coworkers, reference 11. 
Competing interests: 
None declared. 
Reviewer's report 
 The Canadian Celiac Health Survey - The Ottawa Chapter Pilot Title: 
Authors: 
Dr Ann B Cranney ( cranneya@kgh.kari.net )
Marion Zarkadas ( czarkadas@sympatico.ca )
Dr Ian ID Graham Dr. ( igraham@ohri.ca )
Connie C Switzer Dr. ( cmswitzer@shaw.ca )
 1  17 Mar 2003 Version: Date: 
 Carlo Catassi Reviewer: 
 A paper whose findings are important to those with closely related research Level of interest: 
interests 
 Unable to decide on acceptance or rejection until the authors have Advice on publication: 
responded to the compulsory revisions 
This is an interesting paper describing the results of a survey performed among members of the 
Ottawa Chapter Celiac Society. Unfortunately some results are not easily interpreted (e.g. on the 
frequency of associated medical conditions in first-degree relatives and on quality of life) due to lack 
of a control group of non-celiac subjects. In my opinion the manuscript could be greatly improved by taking into consideration the following suggestions: 
* An important information is missing: was (or in which percentage was) the diagnosis of celiac 
disease biopsy-based ? If not, patients with non-celiac gluten intolerance could be erroneously included in this survey. A clue to the possible inclusion of gluten intolerant patients is the very high 
percentage of subjects (64 %) reporting symptoms following an accidental ingestion of gluten, which 
is probably more than expected in "true" celiac disease. 
* The discussion section is excessively short. The results of the survey should be discussed in the perspective of (1) the variable awareness of celiac disease in different countries, as shown by 
similar surveys in Europe and North America , e.g. see the excellent Green's paper published on the 
Am J Gastroenterol and quoted as reference 3; (2) the changing situation in Canada, by comparison 
with the 1989 Survey by Davidson and coworkers, reference 11. 
Competing interests: 
None declared. 
Please review this paper.
user
Reviewer's report 
 The Canadian Celiac Health Survey - The Ottawa Chapter Pilot Title: 
Authors: 
Dr Ann B Cranney ( cranneya@kgh.kari.net )
Marion Zarkadas ( czarkadas@sympatico.ca )
Dr Ian ID Graham Dr. ( igraham@ohri.ca )
Connie C Switzer Dr. ( cmswitzer@shaw.ca )
 1  17 Mar 2003 Version: Date: 
 Carlo Catassi Reviewer: 
 A paper whose findings are important to those with closely related research Level of interest: 
interests 
 Unable to decide on acceptance or rejection until the authors have Advice on publication: 
responded to the compulsory revisions 
This is an interesting paper describing the results of a survey performed among members of the 
Ottawa Chapter Celiac Society. Unfortunately some results are not easily interpreted (e.g. on the 
frequency of associated medical conditions in first-degree relatives and on quality of life) due to lack 
of a control group of non-celiac subjects. In my opinion the manuscript could be greatly improved by taking into consideration the following suggestions: 
* An important information is missing: was (or in which percentage was) the diagnosis of celiac 
disease biopsy-based ? If not, patients with non-celiac gluten intolerance could be erroneously included in this survey. A clue to the possible inclusion of gluten intolerant patients is the very high 
percentage of subjects (64 %) reporting symptoms following an accidental ingestion of gluten, which 
is probably more than expected in "true" celiac disease. 
* The discussion section is excessively short. The results of the survey should be discussed in the perspective of (1) the variable awareness of celiac disease in different countries, as shown by 
similar surveys in Europe and North America , e.g. see the excellent Green's paper published on the 
Am J Gastroenterol and quoted as reference 3; (2) the changing situation in Canada, by comparison 
with the 1989 Survey by Davidson and coworkers, reference 11. 
Competing interests: 
None declared. 
assistant