Reviewer's report
Title:Smoking, use of moist snuff and risk of celiac disease: a prospective study
Version:2Date:20 May 2014
Reviewer: Umberto Volta
Reviewer's report:
This prospective study evaluates the correlation between smoking/moist snuff
and risk of celiac disease (CD). Smoking status has been linked to several
chronic inflammatory conditions but earlier research on smoking and CD is
contradictive. The results of this research clearly demonstrate that there is no
association between smoking, moist stuff and CD development. Compared to
non-smokers, neither current smokers nor ex-smokers seem to be at increased
or decreased risk of CD.
This is a very simple paper with a well defined aim. As underlined by the same
Authors in the Discussion section, this paper has some limitations. In particular,
the Authors did not evaluate the relationship between smoking/moist stuff and
the different clinical presentations of CD (symptomatic- classical and
non-classical - and subclinical).
Major issues:
1) Background, page 4, lines 79-81: The Authors rightly point out that CD is a
multi-factorial disorder characterized by an interplay between genetics and
environmental factors. Among the environmental factors they should also
mention the role of stressful events (pregnancy, death of relatives, surgery, etc..)
in favoring the development of CD.
2) Discussion, page 15, lines 326-329. The Authors underline that villous atrophy
is rarely an expression of a disorder other than CD, reporting that in their
experience IBD is the most frequent occurrence of non-gluten related villous
atrophy. This is amazing since it is not common to find flattening of small
intestinal mucosa in IBD , whereas literature data show that villous atrophy can
be occasionally detected in other disorders such as autoimmune enteropathy,
Whipple disease, common variable immunodeficiency, giardiasis and cow-milk
protein intolerance. Therefore, the Authors should add a sentence illustrating the
possible finding of villous atrophy in the above mentioned conditions (add one or
two references).
Minor issue:
1) Conclusions, page 17, line 359: “This prospective In conclusion, we found ….”
the sentence should be completed or amended.
Level of interest: An article whose findings are important to those with closely
related research interests
Quality of written English: Acceptable
Statistical review: No, the manuscript does not need to be seen by a statistician.
Declaration of competing interests:
I declare that I have no competing interests
Reviewer's report
Title:Smoking, use of moist snuff and risk of celiac disease: a prospective study
Version:2Date:20 May 2014
Reviewer: Umberto Volta
Reviewer's report:
This prospective study evaluates the correlation between smoking/moist snuff
and risk of celiac disease (CD). Smoking status has been linked to several
chronic inflammatory conditions but earlier research on smoking and CD is
contradictive. The results of this research clearly demonstrate that there is no
association between smoking, moist stuff and CD development. Compared to
non-smokers, neither current smokers nor ex-smokers seem to be at increased
or decreased risk of CD.
This is a very simple paper with a well defined aim. As underlined by the same
Authors in the Discussion section, this paper has some limitations. In particular,
the Authors did not evaluate the relationship between smoking/moist stuff and
the different clinical presentations of CD (symptomatic- classical and
non-classical - and subclinical).
Major issues:
1) Background, page 4, lines 79-81: The Authors rightly point out that CD is a
multi-factorial disorder characterized by an interplay between genetics and
environmental factors. Among the environmental factors they should also
mention the role of stressful events (pregnancy, death of relatives, surgery, etc..)
in favoring the development of CD.
2) Discussion, page 15, lines 326-329. The Authors underline that villous atrophy
is rarely an expression of a disorder other than CD, reporting that in their
experience IBD is the most frequent occurrence of non-gluten related villous
atrophy. This is amazing since it is not common to find flattening of small
intestinal mucosa in IBD , whereas literature data show that villous atrophy can
be occasionally detected in other disorders such as autoimmune enteropathy,
Whipple disease, common variable immunodeficiency, giardiasis and cow-milk
protein intolerance. Therefore, the Authors should add a sentence illustrating the
possible finding of villous atrophy in the above mentioned conditions (add one or
two references).
Minor issue:
1) Conclusions, page 17, line 359: “This prospective In conclusion, we found ….”
the sentence should be completed or amended.
Level of interest: An article whose findings are important to those with closely
related research interests
Quality of written English: Acceptable
Statistical review: No, the manuscript does not need to be seen by a statistician.
Declaration of competing interests:
I declare that I have no competing interests
Please review this paper.
user
Reviewer's report
Title:Smoking, use of moist snuff and risk of celiac disease: a prospective study
Version:2Date:20 May 2014
Reviewer: Umberto Volta
Reviewer's report:
This prospective study evaluates the correlation between smoking/moist snuff
and risk of celiac disease (CD). Smoking status has been linked to several
chronic inflammatory conditions but earlier research on smoking and CD is
contradictive. The results of this research clearly demonstrate that there is no
association between smoking, moist stuff and CD development. Compared to
non-smokers, neither current smokers nor ex-smokers seem to be at increased
or decreased risk of CD.
This is a very simple paper with a well defined aim. As underlined by the same
Authors in the Discussion section, this paper has some limitations. In particular,
the Authors did not evaluate the relationship between smoking/moist stuff and
the different clinical presentations of CD (symptomatic- classical and
non-classical - and subclinical).
Major issues:
1) Background, page 4, lines 79-81: The Authors rightly point out that CD is a
multi-factorial disorder characterized by an interplay between genetics and
environmental factors. Among the environmental factors they should also
mention the role of stressful events (pregnancy, death of relatives, surgery, etc..)
in favoring the development of CD.
2) Discussion, page 15, lines 326-329. The Authors underline that villous atrophy
is rarely an expression of a disorder other than CD, reporting that in their
experience IBD is the most frequent occurrence of non-gluten related villous
atrophy. This is amazing since it is not common to find flattening of small
intestinal mucosa in IBD , whereas literature data show that villous atrophy can
be occasionally detected in other disorders such as autoimmune enteropathy,
Whipple disease, common variable immunodeficiency, giardiasis and cow-milk
protein intolerance. Therefore, the Authors should add a sentence illustrating the
possible finding of villous atrophy in the above mentioned conditions (add one or
two references).
Minor issue:
1) Conclusions, page 17, line 359: “This prospective In conclusion, we found ….”
the sentence should be completed or amended.
Level of interest: An article whose findings are important to those with closely
related research interests
Quality of written English: Acceptable
Statistical review: No, the manuscript does not need to be seen by a statistician.
Declaration of competing interests:
I declare that I have no competing interests
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