Evidence map›Paper›PMID 22595204›Full record

SynthesisMaturitas2012

A systematic review of body fat distribution and mortality in older people.

Su-Hsin Chang, Tracey S Beason, Jean M Hunleth, Graham A Colditz

Open access · greenAbstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Maturitas, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 73 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
73citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
9.4field-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

73 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 203 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  6. Article
  7. Indirect estimates of cellular hydration and relative water content and their associations with muscle strength and physical function in older adults: a path analysis from the Pro-Eva study.European review of aging and physical activity : official journal of the European Group for Research into Elderly and Physical Activity · 2026
    Article
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  9. Frontiers in global women's health · 2025
    Article
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13 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

4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Su-Hsin ChangDivision of Public Health Sciences, Department of Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA. changsh@wudosis.wustl.edu
Tracey S Beason
Jean M Hunleth
Graham A Colditz
Washington University in St. Louis · US

Funding

Worksite Policies and neighborhood Influences on Obesity and Cancer RiskU54CA155496 · NCI · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · PI COLDITZ, GRAHAM A. · 2011 to 2016
$9.0M
Training ProgramU54CA153460 · NCI · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · PI COLDITZ, GRAHAM A. · 2010 to 2015
$5.3M
NCI NIH HHS U54 CA153460NCI NIH HHS U54 CA 155496NCI NIH HHS U54 CA155496
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

We conducted a systematic review investigating body fat distribution in older adults and its association with morbidity and mortality. Our search yielded 2702 citations. Following three levels of screening, 25 studies were selected to evaluate the association between body fat distribution and comorbidity, and 17 studies were used in the mortality analysis. Most of the selected studies in our analyses used anthropometric measures, e.g., body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, and waist-hip ratio; relatively few studies used direct measures, such as body fat/lean mass, and percentage body fat. Studies reported inconsistent findings regarding the strongest predictor(s) of morbidity and mortality. However, the majority of studies suggested that BMI per se was not the most appropriate predictor of morbidity and mortality in the elderly because of its inability to discern or detect age-related body fat redistribution. In addition, studies using BMI found that the optimal BMI range for the lowest mortality in the elderly was overweight (25 kg/m(2)≤BMI<30 kg/m(2)) or mildly obese (30 kg/m(2)≤BMI<35 kg/m(2)). Our findings suggest that the current clinical guidelines, recommending that overweight and obesity are major risk factors for increased morbidity and mortality are not applicable to this population. Therefore, the central message of this review is to advise the government to establish new guidelines specifically for this population, using a combination of body fat distribution measurements, and to certify that these guidelines will not be applied to inappropriate populations.

Indexed as

Adipose TissueBody Fat DistributionBody Mass IndexBody WeightAgedGuidelines as TopicHumansObesity

Identifiers

PMID22595204
PMCPMC3367099
OpenAlexW2081830234

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.