PONE-D-21-38825Physical activity, fear avoidance beliefs and level of disability in a multi-ethnic female population with chronic low back pain in Suriname: a population-based studyPLOS ONE

Dear Dr. Ho-A-Tham,

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PLOS ONE

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Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

Comments to the Author

1. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented.

Reviewer #1: Partly

Reviewer #2: Yes

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2. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #1: I Don't Know

Reviewer #2: Yes

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3. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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4. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: No

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5. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)

Reviewer #1: Thank you for considering me to review this manuscript entitled “Physical activity, fear avoidance beliefs and level of disability in a multi-ethnic female population with chronic low back pain in Suriname: A population based study”. This study lacks novelty. The rationale is poorly justified in in the introduction. Methodological details are missing. Language could be improved by editing from a native English language editor.

Abstract

Objective seems to be merged into the introduction. Kindly correct it.

Methods: There is no discussion of inclusion/exclusion criteria here which is imperative to include.

Results: Confidence intervals should also be reported along with odds ratio. Interpretation of OR is incomplete without CI.

Authors are discussing associations here which was not mentioned in the objectives of the study. Results should be discussed in line with the objectives of the study.

Introduction

This section could be improved by adding more literature pertaining to the concerned topic. Further, link between PA and other variables should be thoroughly discussed.

Methods

Include information on psychometric properties of the outcomes variables in the methods section.

Categorization of ethnic groups should be clearly mentioned.

Include a paragraph on study protocol where a brief summary of the study can be described.

Statistical analysis

Some points regarding the data analysis are unclear. Intricate details of regression analysis are required. What were the predictors and independent variables in the analysis? What all covariates were considered in the regression analysis?

Discussion

Line 252-254: Age and educational level were not variables of interest. Results should be discussed in line with the objectives of the study.

Discussion seems insufficient. Findings of all variables are not discussed and relevant studies are very scant. A detailed discussion on findings of each variable is required.

Reviewer #2: than you for your effort, and your manuscript needs some revision

The purpose of this study is to examine the physical activity, fear avoidance beliefs and level of disability in a multi-ethnic female population with chronic low back pain in Suriname

The statistical power and research design are sound. Understanding the rationale for the research question can be improved through a revised introduction.

In abstract introduction: Chronic low back pain (CBLP) change to CLBP

Discussion

This section needs more explanation particularly, comparisons with previous similar studies.

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Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: No

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Physical activity, fear avoidance beliefs and level of disability in a multi-ethnic female population with chronic low back pain in Suriname: a population-based study

PONE-D-21-38825R1

Dear Dr. Ho-A-Tham,

We’re pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it meets all outstanding technical requirements.

Within one week, you’ll receive an e-mail detailing the required amendments. When these have been addressed, you’ll receive a formal acceptance letter and your manuscript will be scheduled for publication.

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Kind regards,

Sarah Michiels

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

Additional Editor Comments (optional):

Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

Comments to the Author

1. If the authors have adequately addressed your comments raised in a previous round of review and you feel that this manuscript is now acceptable for publication, you may indicate that here to bypass the “Comments to the Author” section, enter your conflict of interest statement in the “Confidential to Editor” section, and submit your "Accept" recommendation.

Reviewer #2: All comments have been addressed

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2. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented.

Reviewer #2: Partly

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3. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #2: Yes

**********

4. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.

Reviewer #2: Yes

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5. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here.

Reviewer #2: Yes

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6. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)

Reviewer #2: All comments have been addressed for "Physical activity, fear avoidance beliefs and level of disability in a multi-ethnic female population with chronic low back pain in Suriname: a population-based study"

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7. PLOS authors have the option to publish the peer review history of their article (what does this mean?). If published, this will include your full peer review and any attached files.

If you choose “no”, your identity will remain anonymous but your review may still be made public.

Do you want your identity to be public for this peer review? For information about this choice, including consent withdrawal, please see our Privacy Policy.

Reviewer #2: No

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