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World J Gastroenterol. May 21, 2012; 18(19): 2441-2442
Published online May 21, 2012. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v18.i19.2441
Published online May 21, 2012. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v18.i19.2441
Does antioxidant therapy influence every aspect of quality of life?
Tomasz Stefaniak, Zbigniew Sledzinski, Department of General, Endocrine and Transplat Surgery, Medical University of Gdansk, PL-80-210 Gdansk, Poland
Ad Vingerhoets, Department of Clinical Psychology, Tilburg University, Warandelaan 2, 5037 AB Tilburg, The Netherlands
Author contributions: Stefaniak T prepared the initial version of the letter and revised it; Vingerhoets A and Sledzinski Z revised the letter; and all were involved in the discussion of this topic.
Correspondence to: Dr. Tomasz Stefaniak, Department of General, Endocrine and Transplat Surgery, Medical University of Gdansk, 7 Debinki Str., PL-80-210 Gdansk, Poland. t.j.stefaniak@wp.pl
Telephone: +48-58-3492411 Fax: +48-58-3492416
Received: October 16, 2010
Revised: December 4, 2011
Accepted: February 27, 2012
Published online: May 21, 2012
Revised: December 4, 2011
Accepted: February 27, 2012
Published online: May 21, 2012
Abstract
To present problems that might severely impact the conclusions drawn by the authors of an article on antioxidant treatment in chronic pancreatitis (World J Gastroenterol 2010; 16: 4066-4071). We analyzed and discussed this paper by Shah et al, and found that promising as it is, this study has some methodological shortcomings, such as: cross-sectional nature of the study, lack of initial evaluations of quality of life and regular follow-ups to determine the dynamics and real directions of changes in quality of life. We therefore concluded that the results of the study by Shah et al are biased and, although very promising, should not be considered as scientifically relevant.
Keywords: Chronic pancreatitis; Quality of life; Methodology; Antioxidants