ArticleBMC endocrine disorders2014
The prevalence of metabolic syndrome and metabolically healthy obesity in Europe: a collaborative analysis of ten large cohort studies.
Article in BMC endocrine disorders, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 280 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
280 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 71 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prevalence of metabolic syndrome in patients with inflammatory bowel disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ open · 2024Pooled it
- The Association Between Metabolic Status and Risk of Cancer Among Patients With Obesity: Metabolically Healthy Obesity vs. Metabolically Unhealthy Obesity.Frontiers in nutrition · 2022Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Metabolomic and Lipidomic Signatures of Metabolic Syndrome and its Physiological Components in Adults: A Systematic Review.Scientific reports · 2020Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Associations of obesity phenotypes with weight change, cardiometabolic benefits, and type 2 diabetes incidence during a lifestyle intervention: results from the PREVIEW study.International journal of obesity (2005) · 2023Trial
- In Men With Obesity, T2DM Is Associated With Poor Trabecular Microarchitecture and Bone Strength and Low Bone Turnover.The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism · 2021Trial
- The prevalence and related factors of metabolic syndrome in outpatients with first-episode drug-naive major depression comorbid with anxiety.Scientific reports · 2021Trial
- Trial
- Group Nutrition Counseling or Individualized Prescription for Women With Obesity? A Clinical Trial.Frontiers in public health · 2020Trial
- Trial
- Effect of AHA dietary counselling on added sugar intake among participants with metabolic syndrome.European journal of nutrition · 2018Trial
- Unmasking the role of hypertension in atherosclerosis among patients with obesity: a cardiometabolic dysfunction perspective.International journal of obesity (2005) · 2026Observational
- Obesity, metabolic health status, and adverse outcomes in men and women.American journal of preventive cardiology · 2026Article
- Hypothalamus Amyloid Levels Are Associated with Early Sex-Dependent Alterations in Peripheral Energy Homeostasis in TgF344-AD Rats.Molecular neurobiology · 2026Article
- Network topology of the gut microbiome associates with metabolic health in obesity.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Fermented Dairy Consumption and Metabolic Syndrome in Finnish Men and Women.The Journal of nutrition · 2026Article
- Does metabolically healthy obesity increase the risk of knee and hand osteoarthritis? A population-based cohort study.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2026Article
- The age- and sex-specific association between metabolic body composition and lung function: a cross-sectional study.Endocrine journal · 2026Observational
- Article
220 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
44 authors at 16 institutions in 8 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundNot all obese subjects have an adverse metabolic profile predisposing them to developing type 2 diabetes or cardiovascular disease. The BioSHaRE-EU Healthy Obese Project aims to gain insights into the consequences of (healthy) obesity using data on risk factors and phenotypes across several large-scale cohort studies. Aim of this study was to describe the prevalence of obesity, metabolic syndrome (MetS) and metabolically healthy obesity (MHO) in ten participating studies.
methodsTen different cohorts in seven countries were combined, using data transformed into a harmonized format. All participants were of European origin, with age 18-80 years. They had participated in a clinical examination for anthropometric and blood pressure measurements. Blood samples had been drawn for analysis of lipids and glucose. Presence of MetS was assessed in those with obesity (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2) based on the 2001 NCEP ATP III criteria, as well as an adapted set of less strict criteria. MHO was defined as obesity, having none of the MetS components, and no previous diagnosis of cardiovascular disease.
resultsData for 163,517 individuals were available; 17% were obese (11,465 men and 16,612 women). The prevalence of obesity varied from 11.6% in the Italian CHRIS cohort to 26.3% in the German KORA cohort. The age-standardized percentage of obese subjects with MetS ranged in women from 24% in CHRIS to 65% in the Finnish Health2000 cohort, and in men from 43% in CHRIS to 78% in the Finnish DILGOM cohort, with elevated blood pressure the most frequently occurring factor contributing to the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome. The age-standardized prevalence of MHO varied in women from 7% in Health2000 to 28% in NCDS, and in men from 2% in DILGOM to 19% in CHRIS. MHO was more prevalent in women than in men, and decreased with age in both sexes.
conclusionsThrough a rigorous harmonization process, the BioSHaRE-EU consortium was able to compare key characteristics defining the metabolically healthy obese phenotype across ten cohort studies. There is considerable variability in the prevalence of healthy obesity across the different European populations studied, even when unified criteria were used to classify this phenotype.
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Registered trials
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