ArticlePloS one2014
Lower obesity rate during residence at high altitude among a military population with frequent migration: a quasi experimental model for investigating spatial causation.
Article in PloS one, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 43 papers.
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.
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.
Who cites it
43 citing papers in PubMed, 67 citations in OpenAlex.
- Changes in hemoglobin levels and cardiometabolic health in adults with metabolic syndrome - a secondary outcome analysis of a six-month randomized controlled trial.Annals of medicine · 2026Trial
- HypoxyStat, a small-molecule form of hypoxia therapy that increases oxygen-hemoglobin affinity.Cell · 2025Article
- Review
- A very-low-calorie ketogenic diet normalises obesity-related enhanced levels of erythropoietin compared with a low-calorie diet or bariatric surgery.Journal of endocrinological investigation · 2024Article
- Erythropoietin regulates energy metabolism through EPO-EpoR-RUNX1 axis.Nature communications · 2024Article
- Factors Associated with Normal-Weight Abdominal Obesity Phenotype in a Representative Sample of the Peruvian Population: A 4-Year Pooled Cross-Sectional Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Article
- Organ-specific fuel rewiring in acute and chronic hypoxia redistributes glucose and fatty acid metabolism.Cell metabolism · 2023Article
- Mechanisms for Combined Hypoxic Conditioning and Divergent Exercise Modes to Regulate Inflammation, Body Composition, Appetite, and Blood Glucose Homeostasis in Overweight and Obese Adults: A Narrative Review.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2023Review
- Review
- Revisiting the COVID-19 fatality rate and altitude association through a comprehensive analysis.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- Effects of military life on changes in body mass index of enlisted men: a cross-sectional study.BMJ military health · 2022Article
- Weight Loss and Fat Metabolism during Multi-Day High-Altitude Sojourns: A Hypothesis Based on Adipocyte Signaling.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- Can Social Cognitive Theory Influence Breakfast Frequency in an Institutional Context: A Qualitative Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Association of altitude and urbanization with hypertension and obesity: analysis of the Nepal Demographic and Health Survey 2016.International health · 2021Article
- Stroke-Related Mortality at Different Altitudes: A 17-Year Nationwide Population-Based Analysis From Ecuador.Frontiers in physiology · 2021Article
- Erythropoietin Non-hematopoietic Tissue Response and Regulation of Metabolism During Diet Induced Obesity.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2021Review
- Impact of altitude on COVID-19 infection and death in the United States: A modeling and observational study.PloS one · 2021Observational
- Differences in the prevalence of physical activity and cardiovascular risk factors between people living at low (<1,001 m) compared to moderate (1,001-2,000 m) altitude.AIMS public health · 2021Article
- Distinct Nutrient Intake Style in Inhabitants of Ultra-High-Altitude Areas in North of Tibet, China: A Cross-Sectional Study Based on Newly Developed Tibetan Food Frequency Questionnaires.Frontiers in nutrition · 2021Article
- Erythropoietin regulates metabolic response in mice via receptor expression in adipose tissue, brain, and bone.Experimental hematology · 2020Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
We sought to evaluate whether residence at high altitude is associated with the development of obesity among those at increased risk of becoming obese. Obesity, a leading global health priority, is often refractory to care. A potentially novel intervention is hypoxia, which has demonstrated positive long-term metabolic effects in rats. Whether or not high altitude residence confers benefit in humans, however, remains unknown. Using a quasi-experimental, retrospective study design, we observed all outpatient medical encounters for overweight active component enlisted service members in the U.S. Army or Air Force from January 2006 to December 2012 who were stationed in the United States. We compared high altitude (>1.96 kilometers above sea level) duty assignment with low altitude (<0.98 kilometers). The outcome of interest was obesity related ICD-9 codes (278.00-01, V85.3x-V85.54) by Cox regression. We found service members had a lower hazard ratio (HR) of incident obesity diagnosis if stationed at high altitude as compared to low altitude (HR 0.59, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.54-0.65; p<0.001). Using geographic distribution of obesity prevalence among civilians throughout the U.S. as a covariate (as measured by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the REGARDS study) also predicted obesity onset among service members. In conclusion, high altitude residence predicts lower rates of new obesity diagnoses among overweight service members in the U.S. Army and Air Force. Future studies should assign exposure using randomization, clarify the mechanism(s) of this relationship, and assess the net balance of harms and benefits of high altitude on obesity prevention.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.