Evidence map›Paper›PMID 16428358›Full record

SynthesisArchives of disease in childhood2006

A meta-analysis of the effect of high weight on asthma.

V Flaherman, G W Rutherford

Open access · bronzeAbstract readMeta-AnalysisReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Archives of disease in childhood, 2006. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 78 papers, 10 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
78citing papers in PubMed, 10 pooled it
12.6field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

78 citing papers in PubMed, 10 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 307 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Identifying risk factors for COPD and adult-onset asthma: an umbrella review.European respiratory review : an official journal of the European Respiratory Society · 2023
    Pooled it
  3. Differential gene expression in nasal airway epithelium from overweight or obese youth with asthma.Pediatric allergy and immunology : official publication of the European Society of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology · 2022
    Pooled it
  4. Pooled it
  5. Pooled it
  6. Pooled it
  7. Pooled it
  8. Pooled it
  9. Pooled it
  10. Overweight, Obesity, and Lung Function in Children and Adults-A Meta-analysis.The journal of allergy and clinical immunology. In practice
    Pooled it
  11. Asthma and overweight/obese: double trouble for urban children.The Journal of asthma : official journal of the Association for the Care of Asthma · 2016
    Trial
  12. Obesity and adiposity indicators, asthma, and atopy in Puerto Rican children.The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology · 2014
    Trial
  13. Relationship between infant weight gain and later asthma.Pediatric allergy and immunology : official publication of the European Society of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology · 2010
    Trial
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Review

18 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

V FlahermanDepartment of Family and Community Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143-0503, USA. FlahermanV@peds.ucsf.edu
G W Rutherford
University of California, San Francisco · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPrevalence rates for both overweight and asthma have been increasing among children in developed countries over the past two decades. Some recent studies have postulated a causal relation between these but have lacked power to form a definitive conclusion.

aimTo estimate the effect of high body weight in childhood on the future risk of asthma.

methodsMedline search (1966 to October 2004), supplemented by manual search of reference lists and grey literature. Cohort studies that examined high body weight at birth or during childhood and future outcome of asthma were included. Data from each study were extracted on exposure status, clinical outcome, and study characteristics.

resultsA total of 402 studies were initially identified, of which 12 met the inclusion criteria. The combined results from four studies that examined the effect of high body weight during middle childhood on the outcome of subsequent asthma showed a 50% increase in relative risk (RR 1.5, 95% CI 1.2 to 1.8). The combined results from nine studies that examined the effect of high birth weight on subsequent asthma had a pooled RR of 1.2 (95% CI 1.1 to 1.3). There was consistency among the results in sensitivity analyses examining studies containing only estimates of odds ratios, studies containing only the outcome of physician diagnosis of asthma, and studies including all definitions of high body weight.

conclusionsChildren with high body weight, either at birth or later in childhood, are at increased risk for future asthma. Potential biological mechanisms include diet, gastro-oesophageal reflux, mechanical effects of obesity, atopy, and hormonal influences. Further research might elucidate the causal pathway, which could improve our understanding of the pathophysiology of asthma and perhaps lead to knowledge of potential preventive interventions.

Indexed as

OverweightAdolescentAsthmaBirth WeightBody Mass IndexChildHumansInfant, NewbornRisk FactorsSensitivity and Specificity

Identifiers

PMID16428358
PMCPMC2065974
OpenAlexW1973956269

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.