Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25152241›Full record

ArticleInternational journal of obesity (2005)2015

Higher serum concentrations of betaine rather than choline is associated with better profiles of DXA-derived body fat and fat distribution in Chinese adults.

Y-M Chen, Y Liu, Y-H Liu, X Wang, K Guan, H-L Zhu

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In one paragraph

Article in International journal of obesity (2005), 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 26 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
26citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.8field-weighted citation impact, top 16% 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

26 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 57 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  14. Plasma Metabolomic Profiling of Patients Recovered From Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) With Pulmonary Sequelae 3 Months After Discharge.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2021
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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

6 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Y-M ChenGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Food, Nutrition and Health, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
Y LiuGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Food, Nutrition and Health, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
Y-H LiuThe Biotherapy Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Henan, China.
X WangThe First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Henan, China.
K GuanGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Food, Nutrition and Health, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
H-L ZhuGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Food, Nutrition and Health, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
Sun Yat-sen University · CNFirst Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University · CNHenan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveAnimal studies have suggested that betaine, but not choline, may improve body composition, but little evidence is available in humans. We examined the association of serum concentrations of choline and betaine with body composition and fat distribution in adults.

methodsThis community-based study recruited 1996 adults (women/men: 1380/616) aged 40-75 years in urban Guangzhou, China. General information and anthropometric measurements were taken, and serum choline and betaine levels were assessed by high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry between July 2008 and June 2010. After 3.2 years, 1623 of the 1996 participants were measured for fat mass (FM and %FM) over the total body (TB), trunk, limbs, android (A) and gynoid (G) regions. The %FM ratios of the A/G regions and the trunk and limbs were determined by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry.

resultsUnivariate analyses showed that higher serum betaine levels were significantly associated with lower values of adiposity indices (all P-trends<0.05), except in the case of the %FM at the gynoid area. After adjusting for potential covariates, similar associations were observed. The mean percentage differences between quartiles 4 and 1 of the serum betaine levels were -4.9% (weight), -4.7% (body mass index, BMI), -2.5% (waist circumference), -7.9% (TB FM) and -3.4% (TB %FM). The mean differences in the FM and %FM were much more pronounced at the trunk (-10.0 and -4.5%) or android areas (-10.7 and -4.7%) than those at the limbs (-0.8 and -2.3%) or gynoid areas (-0.6 and -1.4%). Such favorable associations were stronger in men than in women. No significant associations between serum choline and the adiposity indices were observed, except in the cases of body weight and BMI.

conclusionsGreater circulating betaine, but not choline, was dose-dependently associated with better body composition and fat distribution due to a lower FM in the trunk regions in this population.

Indexed as

Body Fat DistributionAbsorptiometry, PhotonAdultAgedBetaineBody CompositionBody Mass IndexChinaCholineCohort StudiesFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedBetaineCholine

Identifiers

PMID25152241
OpenAlexW2055132564

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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.