ArticlePLoS genetics2019
Causal relationships between obesity and the leading causes of death in women and men.
Article in PLoS genetics, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 97 papers, 6 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
97 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 21 citations in OpenAlex.
- Appraising the Causal Role of Risk Factors in Coronary Artery Disease and Stroke: A Systematic Review of Mendelian Randomization Studies.Journal of the American Heart Association · 2023Pooled it
- Emotional Eating Interventions for Adults Living with Overweight or Obesity: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Pooled it
- Childhood body size directly increases type 1 diabetes risk based on a lifecourse Mendelian randomization approach.Nature communications · 2022Pooled it
- Systematic review of Mendelian randomization studies on risk of cancer.BMC medicine · 2022Pooled it
- Epidemiology, Predisposing Factors, Biomarkers, and Prevention Mechanism of Obesity: A Systematic Review.Journal of obesity · 2020Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Factors influencing adults to drop out of intensive lifestyle interventions for weight loss.Translational behavioral medicine · 2023Trial
- Physical and Psychological Effects of Home-Based vs Face-to-Face Prehabilitation in Individuals With Severe Obesity Awaiting Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR research protocols · 2026Article
- Nanomaterial-driven modulation of lipid metabolism: Novel strategies toward precision obesity treatment.Bioactive materials · 2026Review
- The case for primary prevention of obesity in the era of GLP-1 therapies.The Lancet regional health. Europe · 2026Review
- Global risk factors, epidemiology, and disease burden of type 2 diabetes.Science China. Life sciences · 2026Review
- The Global Obesity Epidemic: Epidemiology, Health Burden and Policy Priorities.European cardiology · 2026Review
- Women's heart disease research in the netherlands: angina with non-obstructive coronary artery disease and beyond.Netherlands heart journal : monthly journal of the Netherlands Society of Cardiology and the Netherlands Heart Foundation · 2025Review
- Why Do Black Women Have a Higher Obesity Prevalence Than White Women in the United States?Demography · 2025Article
- Transition From a High-Sugar and Butter to a Standard Diet Leads to Cecal Dysbiosis, Disrupts Intestinal Homeostasis, and Favors Increased Ethanol Consumption and Preference.FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology · 2025Article
- Innovative design and modelling to improve sex and gender analysis in clinical trials.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2025Article
- Article
- High BMI and smoking jointly cause COPD: a Mendelian randomisation study.BMJ open respiratory research · 2025Article
- The Association of Previous Day Carbohydrate Consumption With Fasted, Exhaled Carbon Dioxide in Lumen Users: Retrospective Real-World Study.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2025Observational
- Predictors of Metabolic Syndrome in Polish Women-The Role of Body Composition and Sociodemographic Factors.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
37 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 6 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Obesity traits are causally implicated with risk of cardiometabolic diseases. It remains unclear whether there are similar causal effects of obesity traits on other non-communicable diseases. Also, it is largely unexplored whether there are any sex-specific differences in the causal effects of obesity traits on cardiometabolic diseases and other leading causes of death. We constructed sex-specific genetic risk scores (GRS) for three obesity traits; body mass index (BMI), waist-hip ratio (WHR), and WHR adjusted for BMI, including 565, 324, and 337 genetic variants, respectively. These GRSs were then used as instrumental variables to assess associations between the obesity traits and leading causes of mortality in the UK Biobank using Mendelian randomization. We also investigated associations with potential mediators, including smoking, glycemic and blood pressure traits. Sex-differences were subsequently assessed by Cochran's Q-test (Phet). A Mendelian randomization analysis of 228,466 women and 195,041 men showed that obesity causes coronary artery disease, stroke (particularly ischemic), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, type 2 and 1 diabetes mellitus, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, chronic liver disease, and acute and chronic renal failure. Higher BMI led to higher risk of type 2 diabetes in women than in men (Phet = 1.4×10-5). Waist-hip-ratio led to a higher risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (Phet = 3.7×10-6) and higher risk of chronic renal failure (Phet = 1.0×10-4) in men than women. Obesity traits have an etiological role in the majority of the leading global causes of death. Sex differences exist in the effects of obesity traits on risk of type 2 diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and renal failure, which may have downstream implications for public health.
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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.