Submited on: 01 Oct 2010 11:25:56 AM GMT
Published on: 01 Oct 2010 12:53:06 PM GMT
 

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

    The purpose of this paper is toexamine the hyperbolic relationship found between blood pressure and body mass index in a Nigerian adolescent population.


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

    Yes


  • 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?

    Yes


  • 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


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

    Yes


  • 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?

    No


  • 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 would be great lecture for a medical school.


  • Other Comments:

    The authors studied 483 adolescents in a semi-urban town in Nigeria.  The paper showed that the relationship is hyperbolic- rising from the normotensive phenotype and tapering at the hypertensive phenotype.  The paper concludes that an increase in the body mass index may not affect hypertensive and normotensive adolescents alike.

  • Invited by the author to review this article? :
    No
  • Have you previously published on this or a similar topic?:
    No
  • References:
    None
  • Experience and credentials in the specific area of science:

    Clinical associate professor

  • How to cite:  Maloney W J.The Relationship Between Blood Pressure and Body Mass Index in aNigerian Adolescent Population[Review of the article 'Hyperbolic Relationship between Blood Pressure and Body Mass Index in a Nigerian Adolescent Population ' by Ugwu C].WebmedCentral 2014;5(2):WMCRW002994
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  • What are the main claims of the paper and how important are they?

    The paper reports that blood pressures may always be linearly related to BMI. This is important as it may change the way these diseases are managed.


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

    Yes, the claims are novel, but need to be investigated further.


  • 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?

    To some extent, yes. It would however be important to analyze the data again, this time plotting the BP values against the BMI phenotypes.


  • 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?

    This study and its findings appear different from mainstream thinking, and therefore requires cautious but optimistic re-evaluation, and replication in other settings.


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

    Yes, the methodology is valid, but could have been improved.


  • 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?

    Certainly. If the data is re-analyzed along BP vs BMI phenotypes, it may strengthen or weaken the authors arguments.


  • 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, definitely.


  • Other Comments:

    The authors should attempt to replicate their findings in a different and preferrably larger population of pediatrics.

  • Competing interests:
    No
  • Invited by the author to review this article? :
    No
  • Have you previously published on this or a similar topic?:
    No
  • References:
    None
  • Experience and credentials in the specific area of science:

    I have worked for 5 years in hospital settings, managing pediatric hyertension and obesity cases.

  • How to cite:  Anonymous.Hyperbolic Relationship Between Blood Pressure and Body Mass Index in a Nigerian Adolescent Population[Review of the article 'Hyperbolic Relationship between Blood Pressure and Body Mass Index in a Nigerian Adolescent Population ' by Ugwu C].WebmedCentral 2014;4(2):WMCRW002539
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1 Is the subject of the article within the scope of the subject category? Yes
2 Are the interpretations / conclusions sound and justified by the data? No
3 Is this a new and original contribution? No
4 Does this paper exemplify an awareness of other research on the topic? No
5 Are structure and length satisfactory? Yes
6 Can you suggest brief additions or amendments or an introductory statement that will increase the value of this paper for an international audience? No
7 Can you suggest any reductions in the paper, or deletions of parts? No
8 Is the quality of the diction satisfactory? Yes
9 Are the illustrations and tables necessary and acceptable? Yes
10 Are the references adequate and are they all necessary? Yes
11 Are the keywords and abstract or summary informative? Yes
  • Other Comments:

    1. Authors did make use of the several studies done by other authors in their milleu,Nigeria.Conclusions cannot be validly drawn then. 2.The significance of BMI as a measure of Overweight and Obesity was not utilised in this study. These have more relationship with hypertension than mere measure of BMI.Definition of abnormalities in BMI which play a greater role in blood pressure values should be made in the context of the age group under study.One may be prehyprtensive only on the basis of an abnormality in the BMI. 3. I will suggest the authors incoporate a Paediatrician into this study. 4. Key words may change if the suggestions given above are taken into consideration.

  • Competing interests:
    NO
  • Invited by the author to review this article? :
    No
  • Have you previously published on this or a similar topic?:
    Yes
  • References:
    1.Relationship between parental socioeconomic status and casual blood pressure in coastal Nigerian adolescents.West Afr.Med. J. 2010;May-Jun 29(3):146-152 2.Profile of Body mass index and obesity in Nigerian Children and adolescents.Nig.J Med 2001;April-june 10(2):78-80
  • Experience and credentials in the specific area of science:

    I have done some work in the area of Hypertension in children and adolescents as well as on obesity and overweight in the same group.

  • How to cite:  VO A .Hyperbolic Relationship between blood pressure and body mass index in a Nigerian adlescent population.[Review of the article 'Hyperbolic Relationship between Blood Pressure and Body Mass Index in a Nigerian Adolescent Population ' by Ugwu C].WebmedCentral 2014;2(2):WMCRW00469
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