Evidence map›Paper›PMID 22723994›Full record

ArticlePloS one2012

Serum uric acid and adiposity: deciphering causality using a bidirectional Mendelian randomization approach.

Tanica Lyngdoh, Philippe Vuistiner, Pedro Marques-Vidal, Valentin Rousson, Gérard Waeber, Peter Vollenweider, Murielle Bochud

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 77 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
77citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
4.3field-weighted citation impact, top 5% 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

77 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 156 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  8. Mendelian Randomization Studies: A Metric for Quality Evaluation.Gout, urate, and crystal deposition disease · 2025
    Article
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  11. The pathogenesis of gout.Journal of rheumatic diseases · 2025
    Review
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  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. The Role of Uric Acid in Human Health: Insights from theJournal of personalized medicine · 2023
    Review
  20. Article

17 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

7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Tanica LyngdohInstitute of Social and Preventive Medicine (IUMSP), Lausanne University Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Philippe Vuistiner
Pedro Marques-Vidal
Valentin Rousson
Gérard Waeber
Peter Vollenweider
Murielle Bochud
Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine · CH

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAlthough the relationship between serum uric acid (SUA) and adiposity is well established, the direction of the causality is still unclear in the presence of conflicting evidences. We used a bidirectional Mendelian randomization approach to explore the nature and direction of causality between SUA and adiposity in a population-based study of Caucasians aged 35 to 75 years. METHODS AND

findingsWe used, as instrumental variables, rs6855911 within the SUA gene SLC2A9 in one direction, and combinations of SNPs within the adiposity genes FTO, MC4R and TMEM18 in the other direction. Adiposity markers included weight, body mass index, waist circumference and fat mass. We applied a two-stage least squares regression: a regression of SUA/adiposity markers on our instruments in the first stage and a regression of the response of interest on the fitted values from the first stage regression in the second stage. SUA explained by the SLC2A9 instrument was not associated to fat mass (regression coefficient [95% confidence interval]: 0.05 [-0.10, 0.19] for fat mass) contrasting with the ordinary least square estimate (0.37 [0.34, 0.40]). By contrast, fat mass explained by genetic variants of the FTO, MC4R and TMEM18 genes was positively and significantly associated to SUA (0.31 [0.01, 0.62]), similar to the ordinary least square estimate (0.27 [0.25, 0.29]). Results were similar for the other adiposity markers.

conclusionsUsing a bidirectional Mendelian randomization approach in adult Caucasians, our findings suggest that elevated SUA is a consequence rather than a cause of adiposity.

Indexed as

AdiposityAdultAlpha-Ketoglutarate-Dependent Dioxygenase FTOCausalityCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleGenotypeGlucose Transport Proteins, FacilitativeHumansMaleMembrane ProteinsMiddle AgedPhenotypePolymorphism, Single NucleotideProteinsRandom AllocationAlpha-Ketoglutarate-Dependent Dioxygenase FTOFTO protein, humanGlucose Transport Proteins, FacilitativeMembrane ProteinsProteinsReceptor, Melanocortin, Type 4SLC2A9 protein, humanTMEM18 protein, humanUric Acid

Identifiers

PMID22723994
PMCPMC3378571
OpenAlexW1998096270

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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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.