ArticlePloS one2015
Infection with Soil-Transmitted Helminths Is Associated with Increased Insulin Sensitivity.
Article in PloS one, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 55 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
55 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 92 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of helminths and anthelmintic treatment on cardiometabolic diseases and risk factors: A systematic review.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2023Pooled it
- The Impact of Helminth Infection on the Incidence of Metabolic Syndrome: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2021Pooled it
- Effect of experimental hookworm infection on insulin resistance in people at risk of type 2 diabetes.Nature communications · 2023Trial
- Trial
- Effect of anthelmintic treatment on serum free IGF-1 and IGFBP-3: a cluster-randomized-controlled trial in Indonesia.Scientific reports · 2020Trial
- The Effect of Helminth Infections and Their Treatment on Metabolic Outcomes: Results of a Cluster-Randomized Trial.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2020Trial
- Impact of Helminth Infection on Metabolic and Immune Homeostasis in Non-diabetic Obesity.Frontiers in immunology · 2020Trial
- Comprehensive evaluation of stool-based diagnostic methods and benzimidazole resistance markers to assess drug efficacy and detect the emergence of anthelmintic resistance: A Starworms study protocol.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2018Trial
- Effect of anthelmintic treatment on leptin, adiponectin and leptin to adiponectin ratio: a randomized-controlled trial.Nutrition & diabetes · 2017Trial
- The gut microbiome and metabolome associate with Schistosoma mansoni infection and cardiovascular disease risk in Uganda.Nature communications · 2026Article
- The role of the IL-9‒NLRP3 axis in insulin resistance and adipose tissue inflammation during diet-induced obesity.Cellular & molecular immunology · 2025Article
- Interplay of obesity and parasitic infection: current evidence of immunogenesis, tumorigenesis and leptin receptor involvement.Nutrition & metabolism · 2025Review
- Article
- Clinical challenges and technological breakthroughs in helminthic therapy for diabetes.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Review
- Helminth-induced immune modulation in colorectal cancer: exploring therapeutic applications.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Review
- Systemic Immune Modulation by Gastrointestinal Nematodes.Annual review of immunology · 2024Review
- Impact of Strongyloides stercoralis infection on complement activation in Type 2 diabetes mellitus: Insights from a clinical and anthelmintic intervention study.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2024Article
- Monocytes/Macrophages in Helminth Infections: Key Players in Host Defence, Inflammation, and Tissue Repair.Results and problems in cell differentiation · 2024Review
- Hookworm infection induces glycometabolic modulation in South Indian individuals with type 2 diabetes.IJID regions · 2023Article
- Associations between soil-transmitted helminth infections and physical activity, physical fitness, and cardiovascular disease risk in primary schoolchildren from Gqeberha, South Africa.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
14 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveGiven that helminth infections have been shown to improve insulin sensitivity in animal studies, which may be explained by beneficial effects on energy balance or by a shift in the immune system to an anti-inflammatory profile, we investigated whether soil-transmitted helminth (STH)-infected subjects are more insulin sensitive than STH-uninfected subjects.
designWe performed a cross-sectional study on Flores island, Indonesia, an area with high prevalence of STH infections.
methodsFrom 646 adults, stool samples were screened for Trichuris trichiura by microscopy and for Ascaris lumbricoides, Necator americanus, Ancylostoma duodenale, and Strongyloides stercoralis by qPCR. No other helminth was found. We collected data on body mass index (BMI, kg/m2), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), fasting blood glucose (FBG, mmol/L), insulin (pmol/L), high sensitive C-reactive protein (ng/ml) and Immunoglobulin E (IU/ml). The homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMAIR) was calculated and regression models were used to assess the association between STH infection status and insulin resistance.
results424 (66%) participants had at least one STH infection. STH infected participants had lower BMI (23.2 vs 22.5 kg/m2, p value = 0.03) and lower HOMAIR (0.97 vs 0.81, p value = 0.05). In an age-, sex- and BMI-adjusted model a significant association was seen between the number of infections and HOMAIR: for every additional infection with STH species, the HOMAIR decreased by 0.10 (p for linear trend 0.01). This effect was mainly accounted for by a decrease in insulin of 4.9 pmol/L for every infection (p for trend = 0.07).
conclusionSTH infections are associated with a modest improvement of insulin sensitivity, which is not accounted for by STH effects on BMI alone.
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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.