Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26421898›Full record

ArticleObesity (Silver Spring, Md.)2015

Smoking and reverse causation create an obesity paradox in cardiovascular disease.

Andrew Stokes, Samuel H Preston

Open access · hybridAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.), 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 62 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
62citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
13.9field-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

62 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 109 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  10. Associations between Dietary Patterns and Incident Colorectal Cancer in 114,443 Individuals from the UK Biobank: A Prospective Cohort Study.Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology · 2024
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2 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

2 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Andrew StokesDepartment of Global Health and Center for Global Health and Development, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Samuel H PrestonDepartment of Sociology and Population Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Center for Global Health · USUniversity of Pennsylvania · US

Funding

The Contribution of Obesity to International Differences in LongevityR01AG040212 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA · PI PRESTON, SAMUEL H · 2011 to 2015
$1.7M
NIA NIH HHS R01 AG040212NIA NIH HHS R01AG040212
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveMany studies find that excess weight is associated with better survival among individuals with cardiovascular disease (CVD). Investigations were carried out to see whether this "obesity paradox" can be explained by biases.

methodsThe association between weight status and mortality in the US population ages 35 and above with CVD was investigated. Data were obtained from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1988-2010, linked to mortality records through 2011. To minimize biases resulting from illness-induced weight loss, a reference category consisting of individuals who have always maintained normal weight was used. Age-standardized mortality rates and Cox models were estimated, comparing overweight/obesity (body mass index (BMI) ≥25.0 kg m(-2) ) to normal weight (BMI 18.5-24.9 kg m(-2) ).

resultsThe paradox was present among those with overweight/obesity at the time of survey (hazard ratio (HR) = 0.89; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.78-1.01). However, when the reference category was limited to the always-normal-weight, the paradox disappeared (HR = 1.16; 95% CI 0.95-1.41). When analysis was additionally confined to never-smokers, mortality risks were significantly higher in the overweight/obesity group (HR = 1.51; 95% CI 1.07-2.15; P = 0.021).

conclusionsThe findings provide support for the hypothesis that lower mortality among individuals with CVD and overweight/obesity is a product of biases involving reverse causation and confounding by smoking.

Indexed as

AdultBiasBody Mass IndexBody WeightCardiovascular DiseasesCohort StudiesFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedNutrition SurveysObesityOverweightProportional Hazards ModelsRisk FactorsSmoking

Identifiers

PMID26421898
PMCPMC4701612
OpenAlexW2107106184

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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.