Reviewer ’s report  
 
Title:  Prevalence of dysmenorrhea and predictors of its pain intensity among Palestinian female 
university s tudents  
 
Version: 0 Date: 14 Jul 2017 
 
Reviewer:  Asvini  Subasinghe  
 
Reviewer’s report:  
 
This is an interesting study in which dysmenorrhoea and quality of life are assessed in a large 
sample of university students.  
 
 
Just a few points:  
 
1) In the tables describing univariate and multivariate analyses, the beta coefficents are reported, 
but odds ratios are reported in text. Can this be clarified?  
 
2) Additionally was back pain put in any of these regression models? As it is a known fact tha t 
back pain is associated with dysmenorrhoea.  
 
3) Were there any data collected on hormonal contraceptive use, depression or how often 
pads/tampons were changed in a day (depicting menstrual flow)?  If so, it would be worthwhile 
incorporating these data.  
 
4) Would the authors consider re -running multivariate analyses using backward stepwise 
elimination and removing variables with a p value>0.1?  
 
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.  
 
Unable to assess  
 
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 the 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 am able to assess the statistics  
 
Quality of written English  
Please indicate the quality of language in the manuscript:  
 
Needs some language corrections before being published  
 
Declaration of competing interests  
Please complete a declaration of competing interests, considering the following questions:  
 
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 or shares in an organisation that may in any way gain o r 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 you 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 interests 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.  
 
I declare that I have no competing interests  
 
I agree to the open peer review policy of the jo urnal. 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 website along with the authors' 
responses. I agree fo r 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 named 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