Evidence map›Paper›PMID 22414338›Full record

ReviewThe Proceedings of the Nutrition Society2012

The impact of obesity on the immune response to infection.

J Justin Milner, Melinda A Beck

Open access · bronzeAbstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in The Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 222 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
222citing papers in PubMed, 8 pooled it
17.7field-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

222 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 429 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Updated antimicrobial dosing recommendations for obese patients.Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy · 2024
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  13. Article
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  15. Diverging in Vivo Immune Response Patterns After Oral Food Challenge in Peanut Allergic Adults.Clinical and experimental allergy : journal of the British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology · 2026
    Article
  16. LTBI Prevalence and Risk Factors in Field Practice Areas of a Tertiary Care Hospital, Jodhpur, Rajasthan.Indian journal of community medicine : official publication of Indian Association of Preventive & Social Medicine · 2026
    Article
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162 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.

J Justin MilnerDepartment of Nutrition, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Melinda A Beck
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill · US

Funding

UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CLINICAL NUTRITION RESEARCH UNITP30DK056350 · NIDDK · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · PI SUSAN M. SMITH · 1999 to 2026
$31.6M
Risk of Influenza Infection In A Vaccinated Obese PopulationR01AI078090 · NIAID · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · PI BECK, MELINDA A. · 2009 to 2016
$4.5M
NIAID NIH HHS R01 AI078090NIAID NIH HHS R01AI078090NIDDK NIH HHS P30 DK056350NIDDK NIH HHS P30DK056350
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

There is strong evidence indicating that excess adiposity negatively impacts immune function and host defence in obese individuals. This is a review of research findings concerning the impact of obesity on the immune response to infection, including a discussion of possible mechanisms. Obesity is characterised by a state of low-grade, chronic inflammation in addition to disturbed levels of circulating nutrients and metabolic hormones. The impact of these metabolic abnormalities on obesity-related comorbidities has undergone intense scrutiny over the past decade. However, relatively little is known of how the immune system and host defence are influenced by the pro-inflammatory and excess energy milieu of the obese. Epidemiological data suggest obese human subjects are at greater risk for nosocomial infections, especially following surgery. Additionally, the significance of altered immunity in obese human subjects is emphasised by recent studies reporting obesity to be an independent risk factor for increased morbidity and mortality following infection with the 2009 pandemic influenza A (H1N1) virus. Rodent models offer important insight into how metabolic abnormalities associated with excess body weight can impair immunity. However, more research is necessary to understand the specific aspects of immunity that are impaired and what factors are contributing to reduced immunocompetence in the obese. Additionally, special consideration of how infection in this at-risk population is managed is required, given that this population may not respond optimally to antimicrobial drugs and vaccination. Obesity impacts millions globally, and greater understanding of its associated physiological disturbances is a key public health concern.

Indexed as

AnimalsCross InfectionHumansImmune SystemImmunityInfectionsInflammationInfluenza, HumanObesity

Identifiers

PMID22414338
PMCPMC4791086
OpenAlexW1988508853

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
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.