ArticlePLoS medicine2016
Obesity and Multiple Sclerosis: A Mendelian Randomization Study.
Article in PLoS medicine, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 132 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
132 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 261 citations in OpenAlex.
- Strengthening the reporting of observational studies in epidemiology using Mendelian randomization (STROBE-MR): a Korean translation of explanation and elaboration.Ewha medical journal · 2025Guideline
- Uncovering the Causal Link Between Obesity-Associated Genes and Multiple Sclerosis: A Systematic Literature Review.Brain and behavior · 2025Pooled it
- Shared Genetic Risk Factors for Multiple Sclerosis/Psoriasis Suggest Involvement of Interleukin-17 and Janus Kinase-Signal Transducers and Activators of Transcription Signaling.Annals of neurology · 2023Pooled it
- Relationships between accelerometer-measured and multiple sclerosis: a 2-sample Mendelian randomization study.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2021Pooled it
- Mendelian Randomization and the Environmental Epigenetics of Health: a Systematic Review.Current environmental health reports · 2019Pooled it
- Type 2 Diabetes: How Much of an Autoimmune Disease?Frontiers in endocrinology · 2019Pooled it
- Evidence for a causal relationship between low vitamin D, high BMI, and pediatric-onset MS.Neurology · 2017Pooled it
- Immune Cells as Mediators Between Gut Microbiota and Multiple Sclerosis: Insights From Mendelian Randomization.Immunity, inflammation and disease · 2026Article
- Association between obesity and subsequent risk of myasthenia gravis: a nationwide population-based cohort study.Acta neurologica Belgica · 2026Article
- Integrating Genetics and Environment to Find Causal Mechanisms for Multiple Sclerosis.European journal of immunology · 2026Review
- The Role of Lifestyle Factors in Multiple Sclerosis: An Integrative Perspective.Brain sciences · 2026Review
- Is Obesity a Modifiable Risk Factor in Multiple Sclerosis? Mechanistic Insights into Neuroinflammation and Oxidative Damage.Pathophysiology : the official journal of the International Society for Pathophysiology · 2026Review
- Bidirectional causal relationship between rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus: a Mendelian randomization study.American journal of translational research · 2026Article
- Analysis of the Correlation Between Helper T-Lymphocyte Subsets and Atrial Fibrillation: An Observational and Mendelian Randomization Study.Cardiovascular therapeutics · 2026Observational
- Berberine protects against behavioral deficits, memory dysfunction, and callosal demyelination in cuprizone-intoxicated C57BL/6 mice.Iranian journal of basic medical sciences · 2026Article
- 3D Bioprinting Strategies in Autoimmune Disease Models.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Review
- Evaluation of Selected Serum Adipocytokines in Patients with Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis Treated with Immunomodulatory Second-Line Drugs.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Early-life and adult body mass index in relation to MS disability progression.Journal of neurology · 2025Article
- Article
72 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundObservational studies have reported an association between obesity, as measured by elevated body mass index (BMI), in early adulthood and risk of multiple sclerosis (MS). However, bias potentially introduced by confounding and reverse causation may have influenced these findings. Therefore, we elected to perform Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses to evaluate whether genetically increased BMI is associated with an increased risk of MS. METHODS AND
findingsEmploying a two-sample MR approach, we used summary statistics from the Genetic Investigation of Anthropometric Traits (GIANT) consortium and the International MS Genetics Consortium (IMSGC), the largest genome-wide association studies for BMI and MS, respectively (GIANT: n = 322,105; IMSGC: n = 14,498 cases and 24,091 controls). Seventy single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were genome-wide significant (p < 5 x 10-8) for BMI in GIANT (n = 322,105) and were investigated for their association with MS risk in the IMSGC. The effect of each SNP on MS was weighted by its effect on BMI, and estimates were pooled to provide a summary measure for the effect of increased BMI upon risk of MS. Our results suggest that increased BMI influences MS susceptibility, where a 1 standard deviation increase in genetically determined BMI (kg/m2) increased odds of MS by 41% (odds ratio [OR]: 1.41, 95% CI 1.20-1.66, p = 2.7 x 10-5, I2 = 0%, 95% CI 0-29). Sensitivity analyses, including MR-Egger regression, and the weighted median approach provided no evidence of pleiotropic effects. The main study limitations are that, while these sensitivity analyses reduce the possibility that pleiotropy influenced our results, residual pleiotropy is difficult to exclude entirely.
conclusionGenetically elevated BMI is associated with risk of MS, providing evidence for a causal role for obesity in MS etiology. While obesity has been associated with many late-life outcomes, these findings suggest an important consequence of childhood and/or early adulthood obesity.
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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.