Author's response

Dear Editor,

In reply to the comment made with respect to the article, may I respond that the cut-off of 17 was obtained on the basis of a Gaussian distribution curve with normality established at a range of Mean (2SD). The cut off of 17 for the study population was obtained from this basis. This is an acceptable method of obtaining cut-off value in a population based study. Moreover, the cut off of 17 was obtained from a pretest/pilot study.