Title: Sexual Function, Depression, and Quality of Life in Patients with Irritable Bowel
Syndrome
Version: 1 Date: 08 Apr 2025
Reviewer's report:
Comorbidities are common in brain-gut axis disorders. (10.1111/apt.16589) The overlap
of diseases in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) alters health-seeking behavior (10.1016/
j.cgh.2019.09.020). For example, it is known that these patients report comorbidities
more commonly during gynecological consultations. (10.1016/j.cgh.2019.09.020) Depression
(10.3390/nu13093061) and sexual dysfunction (10.1186/s12905-023-02272-9) have been
shown to be related to IBS, yet their impact on quality of life is a developing area.
The cross-sectional study under review addresses this topic. The authors conducted a survey
of 145 subjects: 47 patients with IBS, 49 patients with depression without IBS, and 49 normal
subjects. They assessed depression with the Beck Inventory II (BDI-II), sexual dysfunction with
the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) and the Male Sexual Function Index (MSFI), and
quality of life with the World Health Organization Quality of Life Brief Version (WHOQOL-
BREEF). They found no differences in the various variables investigated, such as age,
occupation, education, place of residence, and economic status, between the three study groups,
with the exception of smoking and medication use among depressed individuals. IBS patients
who were more depressed had a lower quality of life, while sexual function was associated with
better values among females in controls compared to IBS patients.
Although it contains relevant data, this study has shortcomings that must be addressed before
it can be considered for publication. The most important is the lack of a recent search for
information on the topics covered. For example, there is one study on sexual dysfunction that
was not considered for comparison purposes (10.1186/s12905-023-02272-9), as well as other
more recent studies on depression (10.3390/nu13093061). The second observation concerns the
conclusion; it cannot be stated as an answer that was not evaluated, for example: "Establishing
satisfactory sexual relationships, particularly in chronic conditions like IBS, holds significant
importance for alleviating disease symptoms and enhancing overall well-being." They did not
evaluate "the importance of alleviating symptoms." It should be rewritten to mention correlation
rather than causality, as suggested by statistical inferences. They do not mention the beta power
of the differences between groups, which, being small, can easily fall into a type II error.
There are minor spelling errors; for example, they do not define the WHOQOL BREF or the
questionnaires in their first mention. The first paragraph of the results is the statistical section
of methods, and there's no mention of the sample size calculation. Minor grammatical errors
need to be corrected.
Title: Sexual Function, Depression, and Quality of Life in Patients with Irritable Bowel
Syndrome
Version: 1 Date: 08 Apr 2025
Reviewer's report:
Comorbidities are common in brain-gut axis disorders. (10.1111/apt.16589) The overlap
of diseases in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) alters health-seeking behavior (10.1016/
j.cgh.2019.09.020). For example, it is known that these patients report comorbidities
more commonly during gynecological consultations. (10.1016/j.cgh.2019.09.020) Depression
(10.3390/nu13093061) and sexual dysfunction (10.1186/s12905-023-02272-9) have been
shown to be related to IBS, yet their impact on quality of life is a developing area.
The cross-sectional study under review addresses this topic. The authors conducted a survey
of 145 subjects: 47 patients with IBS, 49 patients with depression without IBS, and 49 normal
subjects. They assessed depression with the Beck Inventory II (BDI-II), sexual dysfunction with
the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) and the Male Sexual Function Index (MSFI), and
quality of life with the World Health Organization Quality of Life Brief Version (WHOQOL-
BREEF). They found no differences in the various variables investigated, such as age,
occupation, education, place of residence, and economic status, between the three study groups,
with the exception of smoking and medication use among depressed individuals. IBS patients
who were more depressed had a lower quality of life, while sexual function was associated with
better values among females in controls compared to IBS patients.
Although it contains relevant data, this study has shortcomings that must be addressed before
it can be considered for publication. The most important is the lack of a recent search for
information on the topics covered. For example, there is one study on sexual dysfunction that
was not considered for comparison purposes (10.1186/s12905-023-02272-9), as well as other
more recent studies on depression (10.3390/nu13093061). The second observation concerns the
conclusion; it cannot be stated as an answer that was not evaluated, for example: "Establishing
satisfactory sexual relationships, particularly in chronic conditions like IBS, holds significant
importance for alleviating disease symptoms and enhancing overall well-being." They did not
evaluate "the importance of alleviating symptoms." It should be rewritten to mention correlation
rather than causality, as suggested by statistical inferences. They do not mention the beta power
of the differences between groups, which, being small, can easily fall into a type II error.
There are minor spelling errors; for example, they do not define the WHOQOL BREF or the
questionnaires in their first mention. The first paragraph of the results is the statistical section
of methods, and there's no mention of the sample size calculation. Minor grammatical errors
need to be corrected.
Please review this paper.
user
Title: Sexual Function, Depression, and Quality of Life in Patients with Irritable Bowel
Syndrome
Version: 1 Date: 08 Apr 2025
Reviewer's report:
Comorbidities are common in brain-gut axis disorders. (10.1111/apt.16589) The overlap
of diseases in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) alters health-seeking behavior (10.1016/
j.cgh.2019.09.020). For example, it is known that these patients report comorbidities
more commonly during gynecological consultations. (10.1016/j.cgh.2019.09.020) Depression
(10.3390/nu13093061) and sexual dysfunction (10.1186/s12905-023-02272-9) have been
shown to be related to IBS, yet their impact on quality of life is a developing area.
The cross-sectional study under review addresses this topic. The authors conducted a survey
of 145 subjects: 47 patients with IBS, 49 patients with depression without IBS, and 49 normal
subjects. They assessed depression with the Beck Inventory II (BDI-II), sexual dysfunction with
the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) and the Male Sexual Function Index (MSFI), and
quality of life with the World Health Organization Quality of Life Brief Version (WHOQOL-
BREEF). They found no differences in the various variables investigated, such as age,
occupation, education, place of residence, and economic status, between the three study groups,
with the exception of smoking and medication use among depressed individuals. IBS patients
who were more depressed had a lower quality of life, while sexual function was associated with
better values among females in controls compared to IBS patients.
Although it contains relevant data, this study has shortcomings that must be addressed before
it can be considered for publication. The most important is the lack of a recent search for
information on the topics covered. For example, there is one study on sexual dysfunction that
was not considered for comparison purposes (10.1186/s12905-023-02272-9), as well as other
more recent studies on depression (10.3390/nu13093061). The second observation concerns the
conclusion; it cannot be stated as an answer that was not evaluated, for example: "Establishing
satisfactory sexual relationships, particularly in chronic conditions like IBS, holds significant
importance for alleviating disease symptoms and enhancing overall well-being." They did not
evaluate "the importance of alleviating symptoms." It should be rewritten to mention correlation
rather than causality, as suggested by statistical inferences. They do not mention the beta power
of the differences between groups, which, being small, can easily fall into a type II error.
There are minor spelling errors; for example, they do not define the WHOQOL BREF or the
questionnaires in their first mention. The first paragraph of the results is the statistical section
of methods, and there's no mention of the sample size calculation. Minor grammatical errors
need to be corrected.
assistant