Article Critique. Self-reported sleep duration| Report

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Article Critique
Self-reported sleep duration, sleep quality, and breast cancer risk in a population-based
case-control study (2013)
By: Jennifer Girschik, Jane Heyworth, Lin Fritschi
1. Description
Breast cancer is the number one invasive cancer and cause of death among women in
Australia and across the world. Various studies have attempted to establish the risk factors for
this condition, but those only account for a minuscule proportion of the total cases. Increased
efforts to deduce more risk factors led to the need to a certain the role of sleep due to the
reduction in sleep duration and quality in the recent times. Thereby, the current study south]
The study was guided by two hypothesis as indicated below, even though they have not been
indicated by the authors.
1. There is no association between sleep quality and breast cancer.
2. There is no association between sleep duration and breast cancer.
A population-based case-control study was carried out but the paper has some inconsistencies
in the presentation of ideas. For example, after reading the abstract, there is the insinuation
that the study was conducted between 2009 and 2011. However, after getting to the methods’
section, the actual dates of the study are not given and the duration inferred to in the abstract
refers to the times when the participants included in the study were diagnosed with the
specified condition of interest. Otherwise, the paper is free of typological and grammatical
errors. All the same, the research paper is constructed in a logical manner and all the different
sections are clearly indicated (1).
Article Critique
The article was critiqued as guided by the questions provided for this assessment, from which
the STROBE guidelines are developed (2, 3).

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2.1 Title and Abstract
Both the title and abstract are good synopses of the research study paper. The title includes
the study’s aim and research design; however, it would have been more comprehensive if it
mentioned the study population. The abstract is a well-detailed summary of the entire study.
The abstract highlights the research gap leading to the purpose of the study, study design and
associated data collection methods, results, and a succinct conclusion. Thereby, by just
reading the abstract, one can understand what the study is about, for whom it was done, and
how it was one. However, it would have been more informative if it provided relevant
recommendations. The inclusion of keywords enhanced the abstract, and it was easy to relate
them to the study because they are relevant. Important keywords including, sleep, sleep
duration, sleep quality, case-control studies, and breast cancer formed part of the keywords.
2.2 Introduction
The introduction has been well-developed as it begins by giving a clear background about the
nature of breast cancer while referring to the population of interest: women, in both the study
setting and the larger universe. The introduction mentions the input from previous research
studies and their inadequacies, giving rise to the current research gap. In the introduction, the
risk factors of interest have been introduced and the rationale for their selection in the current
study provided. The literature that has been used in the introduction is relevant because it
consists of research studies carried out in the past focusing on the seemingly risk factors of
interest. However, sleep-related factors are not the main focus because as seen in the
method’s section, the main hypothetical statement is in reference to exposure to shift work.
Thereby, there is some incongruence between the main research goal and the risk factors
reviewed in the introduction. After reading the introduction, one believes that the study’s
focus is on sleep duration and quality, while in actual sense, this is not the focus. The

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introduction indicates the originality of the study as it seeks to determine whether sleep
duration and quality are risk factors for breast cancer using a primary research approach.
The introduction is flowing in a logical manner beginning with a description of breast
cancer and the current knowledge of risk factors linked to the condition. In the introduction,
the aftermath of poor sleep and underlying biological models have been integrated and winds
up with a strong rationale for conducting the study before introducing the purpose of the
study as the last thing. However, the introduction would have been better if it would have
included hypothetical statements for testing considering that breast cancer is linked to three
domains: sleep duration on workdays, sleep duration on nonworkdays, and subjective sleep
quality (4).
2.3 Materials and Methods
Erdemir (5) indicates that the materials and methods of a research study should highlight the
dates when a study was conducted, the number of study participants, ethical approval, and
study design. Guided by the critiquing questions for this assessment unit, the study’s design
and associated methodology, sampling and sample size in reference to matching the cases and
the controls, data collection procedure and associated instruments, ethical review, and
application of statistical tests should be well explained.
The study design used is appropriate for the current study that sought to determine the risk
factors because both the cases and controls were asked to fill the same questionnaire
evaluating exposure to the disease-causing agents. LaMorte (6) notes that case-control studies
are ideal for determining the risk factors of conditions. The study is articulate about the
individuals that were included in the study based on the time of diagnosis with breast cancer,
precisely invasive breast cancer. Ethical approval was sought from the Western Australian
Department of Health and the University of Western Australia, but the reason for seeking the