Submited on: 31 Jan 2014 07:10:54 AM GMT
Published on: 31 Jan 2014 10:47:29 AM GMT
 
Review of Central obesity and prevalence of metabolic syndrome in post-menopausal women
Posted by Ms. Stuart Pope on 03 Nov 2017 06:34:42 PM GMT Reviewed by Interested Peers

  • What are the main claims of the paper and how important are they?

    The primiary claim of this paper associate central obestiy and post-menopausal status with the development of metabolic syndrome. this is particularly imporant as researchers and clinicians find new ways to predict and prevent chronic disease states such as metabolic syndromes. 


  • Are these claims novel? If not, please specify papers that weaken the claims to the originality of this one.

    Yes, the overall claim in post-menopausal women is novel. However, the association between central obestiy and metabolic syndrome is not novel. 


  • Are the claims properly placed in the context of the previous literature?

    Yes, this paper extends upon previous literature correlating central obesity with metabolic syndrome. 


  • Do the results support the claims? If not, what other evidence is required?

    Yes, the results do support the primary cliam. 


  • If a protocol is provided, for example for a randomized controlled trial, are there any important deviations from it? If so, have the authors explained adequately why the deviations occurred?

    The protocol did not deviate from the original methods. The study was observational and attempted to find a correlation between the variables. 


  • Is the methodology valid? Does the paper offer enough details of its methodology that its experiments or its analyses could be reproduced?

    Overall, the methodology is valid. However, the small sample size may affect if adequate power was met, and should be addressed in future studies. 


  • Would any other experiments or additional information improve the paper? How much better would the paper be if this extra work was done, and how difficult would such work be to do, or to provide?

    Additional information that would improve this paper would be an examination of physical activity levels and lifesyle habits. Both of these factors contribute heavily to the development of metabolic syndrome and are important stratification measures to examine. 


  • Is this paper outstanding in its discipline? (For example, would you like to see this work presented in a seminar at your hospital or university? Do you feel these results need to be incorporated in your next general lecture on the subject?) If yes, what makes it outstanding? If not, why not?

    While there are areas in need of improvement for this study, it is ultimately a good paper to incorporate into educational material and/or seminar presentations. Observational studies such as these help clinicians better understand how to handle serious chronic disease states. 


  • Other Comments:

    None

  • Competing interests:
    .
  • Invited by the author to review this article? :
    No
  • Have you previously published on this or a similar topic?:
    No
  • References:

    .

  • Experience and credentials in the specific area of science:

    .

  • How to cite:  Pope S .Review of Central obesity and prevalence of metabolic syndrome in post-menopausal women[Review of the article 'Central obesity and prevalence of metabolic syndrome in post-menopausal women ' by Ramessur K].WebmedCentral 2017;8(11):WMCRW003393
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Review of Central obesity and prevalence of metabolic syndrome in post-menopausal women
Posted by Ms. Stuart Pope on 29 Oct 2017 09:48:24 PM GMT Reviewed by Interested Peers

  • What are the main claims of the paper and how important are they?

    The main claims of the paper were that central abdominal obesity is a risk factor for development of metabolic syndrome and that this central obesity can be prevented with proper lifestyle modifications. 


  • Are these claims novel? If not, please specify papers that weaken the claims to the originality of this one.

    Yes, the specificity of the post-menopausal population in relation to prevalence of MS is a novel research question from what I have seen in the literature. 


  • Are the claims properly placed in the context of the previous literature?

    Yes, risk factors for MS have been known for some time, but the novelity of demonstrating them in post-menopausal women gives this paper signficance. 


  • Do the results support the claims? If not, what other evidence is required?

    Yes, the results support the claim regarding prevalence of MS


  • If a protocol is provided, for example for a randomized controlled trial, are there any important deviations from it? If so, have the authors explained adequately why the deviations occurred?

    No deviation from the described protocol. 


  • Is the methodology valid? Does the paper offer enough details of its methodology that its experiments or its analyses could be reproduced?

    The biggest issue with the methodology is the small sample size, which could make this study underpowered. 


  • Would any other experiments or additional information improve the paper? How much better would the paper be if this extra work was done, and how difficult would such work be to do, or to provide?

    Stratifying to the level of physical activity of each participant would help improve the signficance of this. The conclusion implies that lifestyle modications could help prevent MS, but such modifications weren't really addressed in this study. 


  • Is this paper outstanding in its discipline? (For example, would you like to see this work presented in a seminar at your hospital or university? Do you feel these results need to be incorporated in your next general lecture on the subject?) If yes, what makes it outstanding? If not, why not?

    Yes, this paper demonstrates key associations between central obesity, physiologic changes and MS and should be incorporated into seminars and/or lectures to stimulate more discussion and research questions. 


  • Other Comments:

    None

  • Competing interests:
    .
  • Invited by the author to review this article? :
    No
  • Have you previously published on this or a similar topic?:
    No
  • References:

    .

  • Experience and credentials in the specific area of science:

    .

  • How to cite:  Pope S .Review of Central obesity and prevalence of metabolic syndrome in post-menopausal women[Review of the article 'Central obesity and prevalence of metabolic syndrome in post-menopausal women ' by Ramessur K].WebmedCentral 2017;8(10):WMCRW003370
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  • What are the main claims of the paper and how important are they?

    Abdominal obesity associated with menopause increases risk for metabolic syndrome and its constituate conditions.


  • Are these claims novel? If not, please specify papers that weaken the claims to the originality of this one.

    Not necessarily novel as the authors themselves cite numerous research papers corroborating what they have abserved in this study, however, this study specifically identifies these conditions to be prevalent in an Indian population, which is specific and of interest.


  • Are the claims properly placed in the context of the previous literature?

    Yes


  • Do the results support the claims? If not, what other evidence is required?

    Claims are supported by the results of this study.


  • If a protocol is provided, for example for a randomized controlled trial, are there any important deviations from it? If so, have the authors explained adequately why the deviations occurred?

    NA


  • Is the methodology valid? Does the paper offer enough details of its methodology that its experiments or its analyses could be reproduced?

    The findings are consistent with clinical tools. 


  • Would any other experiments or additional information improve the paper? How much better would the paper be if this extra work was done, and how difficult would such work be to do, or to provide?

    More specificity concerning the type of adiposity would be available if they had quantified subcutaneous fat versus viseral fat, but that would take more research-oriented design and tools. The type of adiposity seems important in relation to morbidity risk.


  • Is this paper outstanding in its discipline? (For example, would you like to see this work presented in a seminar at your hospital or university? Do you feel these results need to be incorporated in your next general lecture on the subject?) If yes, what makes it outstanding? If not, why not?

    With effects of an increasingly obese population being seen worldwide, this provides one more indication that obesity is not simply a western phenomonon and will be of particular interest to healthcare workers in India, particularly those serving urban areas.


  • Other Comments:

    In the conclusions the authors mention that metabolic syndrome and its constiuent disorders can be prevented and modified through lifestyle modification and weight management, but give no details on what this would entail. It would make the paper stronger to go into some detail presenting proven methods in lifestyle management and weight management citing likelihood of success for each. As this paper is likely to be used by health professional it would be useful to have proven treatment options also presented.

  • Competing interests:
    None
  • Invited by the author to review this article? :
    Yes
  • Have you previously published on this or a similar topic?:
    No
  • References:

    None

  • Experience and credentials in the specific area of science:

    Research experience in body composition measurement methodology.

  • How to cite:  Davidson R T.Review on Central obesity and prevalence of metabolic syndrome in post-menopausal women [Review of the article 'Central obesity and prevalence of metabolic syndrome in post-menopausal women ' by Ramessur K].WebmedCentral 2017;5(4):WMCRW003033
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  • What are the main claims of the paper and how important are they?

    The manuscript dealt with metabolic syndrome and its relationship with post-menopause condition. The theme is quite novel and could exert important role in preventive cardiology.


  • Are these claims novel? If not, please specify papers that weaken the claims to the originality of this one.

    The theme is quite novel although the expression of the contents and the conduction of the research is weak in some points.


  • Are the claims properly placed in the context of the previous literature?

    Yes


  • Do the results support the claims? If not, what other evidence is required?

    The results partially supports the claims due to statistical deficiencies and to a small sample size which is underpowered for the purposed of the research.


  • If a protocol is provided, for example for a randomized controlled trial, are there any important deviations from it? If so, have the authors explained adequately why the deviations occurred?

    No, any deviation.


  • Is the methodology valid? Does the paper offer enough details of its methodology that its experiments or its analyses could be reproduced?

    The methodology is not fully reproducible due to a small sample size which is underpowered for the purposed of the research.


  • Would any other experiments or additional information improve the paper? How much better would the paper be if this extra work was done, and how difficult would such work be to do, or to provide?

    Yes


  • Is this paper outstanding in its discipline? (For example, would you like to see this work presented in a seminar at your hospital or university? Do you feel these results need to be incorporated in your next general lecture on the subject?) If yes, what makes it outstanding? If not, why not?

    Yes


  • Other Comments:

    Dear Editor,

    We have read through the manuscript and we think that the manuscript seems to show important and major lacking news:

    1. The authors did not consider the evaluation of physical activity when evaluating their women. This aspect could deeply influence results. Please discuss such a point.
    2. The authors did not consider the dietary habits of the women. An analysis of the different dietary styles should be take into account in order to provide a full explanation of the differences between groups. Please discuss such a point.
    3. Furthermore, anamnestic analysis should be provided: first of all, cardiovascular risk factors and diseases in family and relatives’ anamnesis should be pointed out (see Pannaciulli N et al. Diabetes Care. 2003 Apr;26(4):1230-4). Drugs and pharmacological treatments should be pointed out due to their role in influencing cardiovascular risk factors expressions and metabolic syndrome. Please discuss such a point.
    4. The sample size is underpowered for the purposes of the study. A post-sample size analysis could overcome this deficiency.
    5. No multivariate analysis has been provided.

  • Competing interests:
    None
  • Invited by the author to review this article? :
    Yes
  • Have you previously published on this or a similar topic?:
    Yes
  • References:

    Ciccone MM, Scicchitano P, Gesualdo M, Fornarelli F, Pinto V, Farinola G, Lagioia R, Sassara M, Zito A, Federici A, Cicinelli E. Systemic vascular hemodynamic changes due to 17-estradiol intranasal administration. J Cardiovasc Pharmacol Ther. 2013 Jul;18(4):354-8. doi: 10.1177/1074248413484385. Epub 2013 Apr 25. Ciccone MM, Scicchitano P, Cortese F, Gesualdo M, Zito A, Tesorio M, Guida P, Papagni A, Federici A, Cicinelli E. Modulation of vascular tone control under isometric muscular stress: role of estrogen receptors. Vascul Pharmacol. 2013 Jan;58(1-2):127-33. doi: 10.1016/j.vph.2012.10.002. Epub 2012 Oct 13. Ciccone MM, Cicinelli E, Giovanni A, Scicchitano P, Gesualdo M, Zito A, Fornarelli F, Locorotondo M, Cicinelli MV, Di Teo C, Farinola G, Scrutinio D. Ophthalmic artery vasodilation after intranasal estradiol use in postmenopausal women. J Atheroscler Thromb. 2012;19(12):1061-5. Epub 2012 Aug 9. De Pergola G, Ciccone MM, Guida P, Morea G, Giannuzzo E, Cortese F, Scicchitano P, Favale S, Silvestris F. Relationship between C3 levels and common carotid intima-media thickness in overweight and obese patients. Obes Facts. 2011;4(2):159-63. doi: 10.1159/000327893. Epub 2011 Apr 15.

  • Experience and credentials in the specific area of science:

    Yes, I confirm my experience in reviewing such an article.

  • How to cite:  Ciccone M M.Review of “Central obesity and prevalence of metabolic syndrome in post-menopausal women[Review of the article 'Central obesity and prevalence of metabolic syndrome in post-menopausal women ' by Ramessur K].WebmedCentral 2017;5(2):WMCRW002942
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