PONE-D-25-19143

5 years of bipolar disorder conversations on Reddit: Methods, key topics and future directions

PLOS ONE

Dear Dr. Poh,

Thank you for submitting your manuscript to PLOS ONE. After careful consideration, we feel that it has merit but does not fully meet PLOS ONE’s publication criteria as it currently stands. Therefore, we invite you to submit a revised version of the manuscript that addresses the points raised during the review process.

ACADEMIC EDITOR:

The reviewers have provisionally accepted this manuscript with Reviewer 2 having a very minor edit of adding "the" on line 455. Please revise the manuscript to include this edit and resubmit for acceptance.

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Kind regards,

Souparno Mitra, M.D.

Academic Editor

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: Yes

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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Reviewer #1: No

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: Yes

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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: This manuscript offers a highly original and timely contribution to mental health research by leveraging five years of Reddit "Ask Me Anything" (AMA) events hosted by CREST.BD to explore the lived experiences and priorities of individuals affected by bipolar disorder. A key strength is its innovative application of BERTopic modeling to a large and diverse dataset of over 3,000 Reddit questions, enabling the extraction of organically expressed themes from a broad, international audience. The study excels in its community-engaged design, involving panelists with both lived experience and clinical or research expertise, which enhances the relevance and ethical integrity of the work. It thoughtfully addresses privacy and data ethics, taking proactive measures such as paraphrasing user quotes and removing identifying information. The study also contributes rich thematic insights—such as community concerns around misdiagnosis, alternative treatments (e.g., psychedelics), and caregiver challenges—which are underrepresented in traditional research agendas. Furthermore, the open-access sharing of analysis code aligns with best practices in transparency and reproducibility. These strengths collectively underscore the study’s value as both a methodological guide and a data-driven resource for informing future research and healthcare policy in bipolar disorder.

Reviewer #2: Well written article : 5 years of bipolar disorder conversations on Reddit: Methods, key topics and future directions. I have included edits/suggestions on the attached PDF. The limitations were unique to reddit, which made it an even more interesting read.

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Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: Yes: Arun Prasad

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Attachments

Attachment

Submitted filename: Completed- 5 years of bipolar disorder.pdf

5 years of bipolar disorder conversations on Reddit: Methods, key topics and future directions

PONE-D-25-19143R1

Dear Dr. Poh,

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.

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Kind regards,

Souparno Mitra, M.D.

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

Additional Editor Comments (optional):

Reviewers' comments: