Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35031696›Full record

Observational studyInternational journal of obesity (2005)2022

Associations between body composition, fat distribution and metabolic consequences of excess adiposity with severe COVID-19 outcomes: observational study and Mendelian randomisation analysis.

Min Gao, Qin Wang, Carmen Piernas, Nerys M Astbury, Susan A Jebb, Michael V Holmes, Paul Aveyard

Open access · hybridAbstract readObservational Study
In one paragraph

Observational study in International journal of obesity (2005), 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
22citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
8.8field-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

22 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 88 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. The impact of obesity: a narrative review.Singapore medical journal · 2023
    Review
  14. Article
  15. Review
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

  • Commented on by
    2022
5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Min Gao *Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, Oxford, UK. min.gao@phc.ox.ac.uk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6196-7088
Qin Wang *Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, Old Road Campus, Oxford, UK.
Carmen Piernas *Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, Oxford, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7536-922X
Nerys M AstburyNuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, Oxford, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9301-7458
Susan A JebbNuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, Oxford, UK.
Michael V HolmesNIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, Oxford University Hospitals, NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6617-0879
Paul AveyardNuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, Oxford, UK. paul.aveyard@phc.ox.ac.uk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1802-4217
University of Oxford · GB

Funding

British Heart Foundation FS/18/23/33512
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundHigher body mass index (BMI) and metabolic consequences of excess weight are associated with increased risk of severe COVID-19, though their mediating pathway is unclear.

methodsA prospective cohort study included 435,504 UK Biobank participants. A two-sample Mendelian randomisation (MR) study used the COVID-19 Host Genetics Initiative in 1.6 million participants. We examined associations of total adiposity, body composition, fat distribution and metabolic consequences of excess weight, particularly type 2 diabetes, with incidence and severity of COVID-19, assessed by test positivity, hospital admission, intensive care unit (ICU) admission and death.

resultsBMI and body fat were associated with COVID-19 in the observational and MR analyses but muscle mass was not. The observational study suggested the association with central fat distribution was stronger than for BMI, but there was little evidence from the MR analyses than this was causal. There was evidence that strong associations of metabolic consequences with COVID-19 outcomes in observational but not MR analyses. Type 2 diabetes was strongly associated with COVID-19 in observational but not MR analyses. In adjusted models, the observational analysis showed that the association of BMI with COVID-19 diminished, while central fat distribution and metabolic consequences of excess weight remained strongly associated. In contrast, MR showed the reverse, with only BMI retaining a direct effect on COVID-19.

conclusionsExcess total adiposity is probably casually associated with severe COVID-19. Mendelian randomisation data do not support causality for the observed associations of central fat distribution or metabolic consequences of excess adiposity with COVID-19.

Indexed as

COVID-19Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2Adipose TissueAdiposityBody CompositionBody Mass IndexHumansObesityProspective Studies

Identifiers

PMID35031696
PMCPMC8758930
OpenAlexW4206728149

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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.