Reviewer's report
Title:Psychological stress and coeliac disease in childhood: a cohort study
Version: 6Date:10 August 2010
Reviewer: Ryan Lennon
Reviewer's report:
I believe the authors have responded appropriately to the reviewer. An odds ratio
confidence limit of zero is possible using exact methods when one group has
observed no events (as was the case here). Furthermore, the reviewer was quite
right to insist that the authors discuss and highlight the limited statistical power of
the study, as evidenced by the very wide confidence intervals. The authors have
appropriately added such statements in multiple places, including the abstract.
The study seems to be scientifically sound. The major issue with it is that the
confidence intervals are so wide, that we really have learned almost nothing
about the association between psychological stress and coeliac disease. It is one
thing to publish a negative study with narrow confidence intervals, such that
readers can be confident that whatever association exists, it must not be too
large. This negative study has not ruled out much. Still, as a negative study I
suppose it merits publication if only to show that the hypothesis was investigated.
I have no competing interests with regards to this article.
Sincerely,
Ryan Lennon
Declaration of competing interests:
I have no competing interests with regards to this article
Reviewer's report
Title:Psychological stress and coeliac disease in childhood: a cohort study
Version: 6Date:10 August 2010
Reviewer: Ryan Lennon
Reviewer's report:
I believe the authors have responded appropriately to the reviewer. An odds ratio
confidence limit of zero is possible using exact methods when one group has
observed no events (as was the case here). Furthermore, the reviewer was quite
right to insist that the authors discuss and highlight the limited statistical power of
the study, as evidenced by the very wide confidence intervals. The authors have
appropriately added such statements in multiple places, including the abstract.
The study seems to be scientifically sound. The major issue with it is that the
confidence intervals are so wide, that we really have learned almost nothing
about the association between psychological stress and coeliac disease. It is one
thing to publish a negative study with narrow confidence intervals, such that
readers can be confident that whatever association exists, it must not be too
large. This negative study has not ruled out much. Still, as a negative study I
suppose it merits publication if only to show that the hypothesis was investigated.
I have no competing interests with regards to this article.
Sincerely,
Ryan Lennon
Declaration of competing interests:
I have no competing interests with regards to this article
Please review this paper.
user
Reviewer's report
Title:Psychological stress and coeliac disease in childhood: a cohort study
Version: 6Date:10 August 2010
Reviewer: Ryan Lennon
Reviewer's report:
I believe the authors have responded appropriately to the reviewer. An odds ratio
confidence limit of zero is possible using exact methods when one group has
observed no events (as was the case here). Furthermore, the reviewer was quite
right to insist that the authors discuss and highlight the limited statistical power of
the study, as evidenced by the very wide confidence intervals. The authors have
appropriately added such statements in multiple places, including the abstract.
The study seems to be scientifically sound. The major issue with it is that the
confidence intervals are so wide, that we really have learned almost nothing
about the association between psychological stress and coeliac disease. It is one
thing to publish a negative study with narrow confidence intervals, such that
readers can be confident that whatever association exists, it must not be too
large. This negative study has not ruled out much. Still, as a negative study I
suppose it merits publication if only to show that the hypothesis was investigated.
I have no competing interests with regards to this article.
Sincerely,
Ryan Lennon
Declaration of competing interests:
I have no competing interests with regards to this article
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