Review for 10.1186/s12876-018-0845-4 (2018)

Reviewer ’s repo rt 
 
Title: Health education program improves QOL in students with irritable bowel syndrome after 
the Wenchuan earthquak e: A five -year multi -center study  
 
Version: 0 Date: 03 Apr 2018  
 
Reviewer: Francesca Galeazzi  
 
Reviewer's report:  
 
RE: Manuscript          BMGE -D-18-00124  
 
Author: Shi -cheng Zheng  
TITLE: Health education program improves QOL in students with irritable bowel syndrome after 
the Wenchuan earthquake: A five -year multi -center study  
 
In this study the authors evaluated the effect of an educational programme in students with IBS 
who experienced a great earthquake.  
The is an interesting study, conducted over a long period of time, addressing the important topic 
of the role of health education in func tional bowel disorders following a great stressful event.  
However, some issues need to be clarified:  
1. Is there any relationship between the severity of symptoms and severity of consequences of 
earthquake (damage, loss)  
 
2. Authors should specify the age  of the students, as the specific school system may not be 
known  
 
3. How where the patient  attributed to the groups (education vs no -education)?  
 
3. Demographics should be better described in 1 max 2 tables  
 
4. How are data from different years com pared? Statistic  methods should be better described  
and comparison between groups specified  
 
4. Abstract, lines 17 -23: unclear, should be rewritten  
 
5. Background pag e 4 lines 9 -13: unclear, should be rewritten   
 
6. Background page  4 line 19: Rome foundation instead of Roman foundation  
The manuscript should be revised for several typos and punctuation and for English  language.  
Are the methods appropriate and well described?  
If not, please specify what is required in your comments to the authors.  
 
Yes 
 
Does the work include the necessary controls?  
If not, please specify which controls are required in your comments to the authors.  
 
Yes 
 
Are the conclusions drawn adequately supported by the data shown?  
If not, please explain in your comments to the authors.  
 
Yes 
 
Are you able to assess any statistics in t he manuscript or would you recommend an  
additional statistical review?  
If an additional statistical review is recommended, please specify what aspects require further  
assessment in your comments to the editors.  
 
I recommend additional statistical review  
 
Quality of written English  
Please indicate the quality of language in the manuscript:  
 
Not suitable for publication unless extensively edited  
 
Declaration of competing interests  
Please complete a declaration of competing interests, considering the following que stions:  
 
1. Have you in the past five years received reimbursements, fees, funding, or salary from an  
organisation that may in any way gain or lose financially from the publication of this  
manuscript, either now or in the future?  
 
2. Do you hold any stocks o r shares in an organisation that may in any way gain or lose  
financially from the publication of this manuscript, either now or in the future?  
 
3. Do you hold or are you currently applying for any patents relating to the content of the  
manuscript?  
 
4. Have y ou received reimbursements, fees, funding, or salary from an organization that 
holds  or has applied for patents relating to the content of the manuscript?  
 
5. Do you have any other financial competing interests?  
 
6. Do you have any non -financial competing in terests in relation to this paper?  
 
If you can answer no to all of the above, write 'I declare that I have no competing interests' 
below.  If your reply is yes to any, please give details below.  
 
No conflict of interest in relation to this paper  
 
I agree to the open peer review policy of the journal. I understand that my name will be included  
on my report to the authors and, if the manuscript is accepted for publication, my named report  
including any attachments I upload will be posted on the websi te along with the authors'  
responses.  I agree for my report to be made available under an Open Access Creative Commons 
CC-BY license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ). I understand that any comments 
which I do  not wish to be included in my name d report can be included as confidential comments 
to the  editors, which will not be published.  
 
I agree to the open peer review policy of the journal