Evidence map›Paper›PMID 23046549›Full record

SynthesisBMC medicine2012

Dietary iron intake, body iron stores, and the risk of type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Wei Bao, Ying Rong, Shuang Rong, Liegang Liu

Open access · goldAbstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in BMC medicine, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 116 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
116citing papers in PubMed, 8 pooled it
9.6field-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

116 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 264 citations in OpenAlex.

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  19. Associations of Type 2 Diabetes with Risk of Overall and Site-Specific Cancers in a Cohort of Predominantly Low-Income Racially Diverse Populations.Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology · 2025
    Article
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56 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.

Wei BaoDepartment of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, Hubei Key Laboratory of Food Nutrition and Safety, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 13 Hangkong Road, Wuhan 430030, P,R, China.
Ying Rong
Shuang Rong
Liegang Liu
Huazhong University of Science and Technology · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundExcess iron has been shown to induce diabetes in animal models. However, the results from human epidemiologic studies linking body iron stores and iron intake to the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are conflicting. In this study, we aimed to systematically evaluate the available evidence for associations between iron intake, body iron stores, and the risk of T2DM.

methodsA systematic search of the PubMed/MEDLINE and EMBASE databases to the end of 22 April 2012 was performed, and reference lists of retrieved articles were screened. Two reviewers independently evaluated the eligibility of inclusion and extracted the data. Pooled relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using random-effects models.

resultsWe reviewed 449 potentially relevant articles, and 11 prospective studies were included in the analysis. A meta-analysis of five studies gave a pooled RR for T2DM of 1.33 (95% CI 1.19 to 1.48; P<0.001) in individuals with the highest level of heme iron intake, compared with those with the lowest level. The pooled RR for T2DM for a daily increment of 1 mg of heme iron intake was 1.16 (1.09 to 1.23, P<0.001). Body iron stores, as measured by ferritin, soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR) and the sTfR:ferritin ratio, were significantly associated with the risk of T2DM. The pooled RRs for T2DM in individuals with the highest versus the lowest intake of ferritin levels was 1.70 (1.27-2.27, P<0.001) before adjustment for inflammatory markers and 1.63 (1.03-2.56, P = 0.036) after adjustment. We did not find any significant association of dietary intakes of total iron, non-heme, or supplemental iron intake with T2DM risk.

conclusionHigher heme iron intake and increased body iron stores were significantly associated with a greater risk of T2DM. Dietary total iron, non-heme iron, or supplemental iron intakes were not significantly associated with T2DM risk.

Indexed as

AdultAgedAnimalsDiabetes Mellitus, Type 2FemaleHumansIronIron, DietaryMaleMiddle AgedRisk AssessmentYoung AdultIronIron, Dietary

Identifiers

PMID23046549
PMCPMC3520769
OpenAlexW2109704897

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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.