Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36221008›Full record

ArticleDiabetologia2023

Investigating the causal relationships between excess adiposity and cardiometabolic health in men and women.

Pascal M Mutie, Hugo Pomares-Millan, Naeimeh Atabaki-Pasdar, Daniel Coral, Hugo Fitipaldi, Neli Tsereteli, Juan Fernandez Tajes, Paul W Franks, Giuseppe N Giordano

Erratum issuedOpen access · hybridAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Diabetologia, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 17 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
17citing papers in PubMed, 5 pooled it
3.4field-weighted citation impact, top 7% 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

17 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 21 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  5. Pooled it
  6. Cardiometabolic Risk Factors in Women Exposed to High Altitude.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026
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  7. Resting-state brain dynamics are associated with body fat percentage and sympathetic outflow in healthy adults.Clinical autonomic research : official journal of the Clinical Autonomic Research Society · 2026
    Article
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  14. Association Between Metabolic and Obesity Phenotypes and Diabetes Risk in Children and Adolescents.Diabetes, metabolic syndrome and obesity : targets and therapy · 2024
    Article
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  16. Review
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Pascal M MutieGenetic and Molecular Epidemiology Unit, Lund University Diabetes Centre, Department of Clinical Sciences, Clinical Research Centre, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2626-1703
Hugo Pomares-MillanGenetic and Molecular Epidemiology Unit, Lund University Diabetes Centre, Department of Clinical Sciences, Clinical Research Centre, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
Naeimeh Atabaki-PasdarGenetic and Molecular Epidemiology Unit, Lund University Diabetes Centre, Department of Clinical Sciences, Clinical Research Centre, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
Daniel CoralGenetic and Molecular Epidemiology Unit, Lund University Diabetes Centre, Department of Clinical Sciences, Clinical Research Centre, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
Hugo FitipaldiGenetic and Molecular Epidemiology Unit, Lund University Diabetes Centre, Department of Clinical Sciences, Clinical Research Centre, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
Neli TsereteliGenetic and Molecular Epidemiology Unit, Lund University Diabetes Centre, Department of Clinical Sciences, Clinical Research Centre, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
Juan Fernandez TajesGenetic and Molecular Epidemiology Unit, Lund University Diabetes Centre, Department of Clinical Sciences, Clinical Research Centre, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
Paul W FranksGenetic and Molecular Epidemiology Unit, Lund University Diabetes Centre, Department of Clinical Sciences, Clinical Research Centre, Lund University, Lund, Sweden. paul.franks@med.lu.se.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0520-7604
Giuseppe N GiordanoGenetic and Molecular Epidemiology Unit, Lund University Diabetes Centre, Department of Clinical Sciences, Clinical Research Centre, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
Lund University · SEHarvard University · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

aims/hypothesisExcess adiposity is differentially associated with increased risk of cardiometabolic disease in men and women, according to observational studies. Causal inference studies largely assume a linear relationship between BMI and cardiometabolic outcomes, which may not be the case. In this study, we investigated the shapes of the causal relationships between BMI and cardiometabolic diseases and risk factors. We further investigated sex differences within the causal framework.

methodsTo assess causal relationships between BMI and the outcomes, we used two-stage least-squares Mendelian randomisation (MR), with a polygenic risk score for BMI as the instrumental variable. To elucidate the shapes of the causal relationships, we used a non-linear MR fractional polynomial method, and used piecewise MR to investigate threshold relationships and confirm the shapes.

resultsBMI was associated with type 2 diabetes (OR 3.10; 95% CI 2.73, 3.53), hypertension (OR 1.53; 95% CI 1.44, 1.62) and coronary artery disease (OR 1.20; 95% CI 1.08, 1.33), but not chronic kidney disease (OR 1.08; 95% CI 0.67, 1.72) or stroke (OR 1.08; 95% CI 0.92, 1.28). The data suggest that these relationships are non-linear. For cardiometabolic risk factors, BMI was positively associated with glucose, HbA CONCLUSIONS/

interpretationWe describe the shapes of causal effects of BMI on cardiometabolic diseases and risk factors, and report sex differences in the causal effects of BMI on LDL-cholesterol. We found evidence of non-linearity in the causal effect of BMI on diseases and risk factor biomarkers. Reducing excess adiposity is highly beneficial for health, but there is greater need to consider biological sex in the management of adiposity.

Indexed as

Cardiovascular DiseasesCoronary Artery DiseaseDiabetes Mellitus, Type 2AdiposityBiomarkersBody Mass IndexCholesterol, LDLFemaleHumansMaleMendelian Randomization AnalysisObesityRisk FactorsBiomarkersCholesterol, LDLCardiometabolicCausalMendelian randomisationObesity

Identifiers

PMID36221008
PMCPMC9807546
OpenAlexW4304606719

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.