ArticleInternational journal of obesity (2005)2019
Are BMI and inflammatory markers independently associated with physical fatigability in old age?
Article in International journal of obesity (2005), 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 49 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
49 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 74 citations in OpenAlex.
- Long-term neurological and cognitive impact of COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis in over 4 million patients.BMC neurology · 2025Pooled it
- Prevalence of fatigue and perceived fatigability in older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Scientific reports · 2025Pooled it
- Effect of Thyroid Hormone Therapy on Fatigability in Older Adults With Subclinical Hypothyroidism: A Nested Study Within a Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2020Trial
- Fatigue, muscle fatigability, and the Hallmarks of Aging: a narrative review.The journal of nutrition, health & aging · 2026Review
- The prevalence and associated factors of perceived physical and mental fatigability among older adults in regional China.BMC geriatrics · 2025Article
- The interplay between perceived fatigability, intrinsic capacity, and physical activity: network analysis in a British birth cohort study.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2025Article
- Cerebral Metabolic Rate of Oxygen and Accelerometry-Based Fatigability in Community-Dwelling Older Adults.Aging cell · 2025Article
- Using Wearable Devices to Examine the Associations of Sedentary Behavior with Perceived and Performance Fatigability Among Older Adults: The Study of Muscle, Mobility and Aging (SOMMA).Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Sex differences in the association between skeletal muscle energetics and perceived physical fatigability: the Study of Muscle, Mobility and Aging (SOMMA).GeroScience · 2025Article
- Perceived physical and mental fatigability in older adults with and without multiple sclerosis.Multiple sclerosis and related disorders · 2024Article
- Role of Walking Energetics and Perceived Fatigability Differs by Gait Speed: The Study of Muscle, Mobility and Aging (SOMMA).The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2024Article
- Associations of depression and perceived physical fatigability with white matter integrity in older adults.Psychiatry research. Neuroimaging · 2024Article
- Article
- The relationship between self-perceived fatigue, muscle endurance, and circulating markers of inflammation in participants of the Copenhagen aging and Midlife Biobank (CAMB).European review of aging and physical activity : official journal of the European Group for Research into Elderly and Physical Activity · 2024Article
- The association between frailty and perceived physical and mental fatigability: The Long Life Family Study.Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · 2024Article
- Validation of the Pittsburgh Performance Fatigability Index in the Study of Muscle, Mobility and Aging.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2023Article
- Causal association between subtypes of osteoarthritis and common comorbidities: A Mendelian randomisation study.Osteoarthritis and cartilage open · 2023Article
- Role of Perceived Physical and Mental Fatigability Severity on Prospective, Recurrent, and Injurious Fall Risk in Older Men.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2023Article
- Association between Muscle Fatigability, Self-Perceived Fatigue and C-Reactive Protein at Admission in Hospitalized Geriatric Patients.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Dual Roles of Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Fatigability in the Life-Space Mobility of Older Adults: The Study of Muscle, Mobility and Aging (SOMMA).The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundObesity and chronic low-grade inflammation have both been implicated in the onset of physical fatigue. However, few studies have investigated the independence of these associations in older community-dwelling populations. We therefore aimed to investigate the associations of body mass index (BMI) and inflammatory markers at age 60-64 with perceived physical fatigability at age 68 and to assess whether any such associations were independent of each other and potential confounding factors. A secondary aim was to investigate whether any association with BMI extended back into earlier adulthood.
methodsParticipants of the MRC National Survey of Health and Development (N = 1580) had BMI and levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and C-reactive protein (CRP) measured during clinical assessments at age 60-64. These were related to self-perceived physical fatigability assessed at age 68 using the Pittsburgh Fatigability Scale (PFS) (total score:0 (no physical fatigue)-50 (extreme physical fatigue)). RESUTS: Women had higher mean PFS scores than men (mean (SD): 16.0 (9.1) vs 13.2 (8.9), p < 0.01). In sex-adjusted models, BMI, CRP and IL-6 were each associated with PFS scores. When all three factors were included in the same model, BMI and IL-6 remained associated with PFS scores whereas CRP did not. After adjustment for a range of potential confounders, associations of BMI and IL-6 with PFS scores were still evident; fully adjusted differences in mean PFS score = 3.41 (95% CI: 0.59, 6.24) and 1.65 (0.46, 2.84) for underweight and obese participants when compared with normal weight and, 2.78 (1.65, 3.91) when comparing those with an IL-6 of 2.51-8.49 pg/mL with levels <1.50.
conclusionsBMI and inflammation may both be suitable targets for intervention to reduce the burden of physical fatigability in later life. Further, interventions that target both obesity and elevated levels of IL-6 are likely to be more effective than those focusing on only one.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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.