SynthesisPloS one2016
In Obesity, HPA Axis Activity Does Not Increase with BMI, but Declines with Aging: A Meta-Analysis of Clinical Studies.
Synthesis in PloS one, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
14 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 24 citations in OpenAlex.
- Associations Between Morning Salivary and Blood Cortisol Concentrations in Individuals With Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome: A Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2020Pooled it
- Plasma cortisol cut-off concentrations using the dexamethasone suppression test in patients with adrenal incidentalomas.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2026Observational
- Effects of Lifestyle, Diet, and Body Composition on Free Testosterone and Cortisol Levels in Young Men.Nutrients · 2025Article
- Number of comorbidities predicts adrenal incidentaloma and autonomic cortisol secretion in obese individuals: A two-center cohort study.Endocrine · 2025Article
- Phenomenon of hypocortisolism in individuals with obesity.Comprehensive psychoneuroendocrinology · 2025Article
- The Effect of Whitening Creams Usage on the Adrenal Gland .F1000Research · 2025Article
- Links between the genetic determinants of morning plasma cortisol and body shape: a two-sample Mendelian randomisation study.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- The Impact of Obesity on the Excretion of Steroid Metabolites in Boys and Girls: A Comparison with Normal-Weight Children.Nutrients · 2023Article
- Associations of age, BMI, and renal function to cortisol after dexamethasone suppression in patients with adrenal incidentalomas.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2022Article
- Adiposity Measures and Morning Serum Cortisol in African Americans: Jackson Heart Study.Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) · 2021Article
- The nonhuman primate hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis is an orchestrator of programming-aging interactions: role of nutrition.Nutrition reviews · 2020Review
- Association of generalized and central obesity with serum and salivary cortisol secretion patterns in the elderly: findings from the cross sectional KORA-Age study.Scientific reports · 2020Article
- Predictors of Obesity among Gut Microbiota Biomarkers in African American Men with and without Diabetes.Microorganisms · 2019Article
- Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis function in traumatic spinal cord injury-related neuropathic pain: a case-control study.Journal of endocrinological investigation · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
15 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundObesity is one of the major public health challenges worldwide. It involves numerous endocrine disorders as etiological factors or as complications. Previous studies strongly suggested the involvement of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity in obesity, however, to date, no consistent trend in obesity-associated alterations of the HPA axis has been identified. Aging has been demonstrated to aggravate obesity and to induce abnormalities of the HPA axis. Thus, the question arises whether obesity is correlated with peripheral indicators of HPA function in adult populations.
objectivesWe aimed to meta-analyze literature data on peripheral cortisol levels as indicators of HPA activity in obesity during aging, in order to identify possible explanations for previous contradictory findings and to suggest new approaches for future clinical studies. DATA SOURCES: 3,596 records were identified through searching of PubMed, Embase and Cochrane Library Database. Altogether 26 articles were suitable for analyses. STUDY ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: Empirical research papers were eligible provided that they reported data of healthy adult individuals, included body mass index (BMI) and measured at least one relevant peripheral cortisol parameter (i.e., either morning blood cortisol or 24-h urinary free cortisol). STATISTICAL
methodsWe used random effect models in each of the meta-analyses calculating with the DerSimonian and Laird weighting methods. I-squared indicator and Q test were performed to assess heterogeneity. Meta-regression was applied to explore the effect of BMI and age on morning blood and urinary free cortisol levels. To assess publication bias Egger's test was used.
resultsObesity did not show any correlation with the studied peripheral cortisol values. On the other hand, peripheral cortisol levels declined with aging within the obese, but not in the non-obese groups.
conclusionsOur analysis demonstrated that obesity or healthy aging does not lead to enhanced HPA axis activity, peripheral cortisol levels rather decline with aging.
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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.