ArticlePloS one2023
Sublethal toxicities of 2,4-dinitrophenol as inferred from online self-reports.
Article in PloS one, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
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
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Molecular mechanisms of mitochondrial uncoupling: focus on 2,4-dinitrophenol.European biophysics journal : EBJ · 2026Review
- Curation and Extraction of Drug-Related Entities from Reddit Platform.Proceedings. IEEE International Conference on Healthcare Informatics · 2026Article
- Application of a fully 3D printed carbon electrode for the double potential step Chronoamperometric determination of 2,4-dinitrophenol in environmental water samples.Frontiers in chemistry · 2025Article
- 2,4-Dinitrophenol is toxic on a low caloric diet but extends lifespan of Drosophila melanogaster on nutrient-rich diets without an impact on metabolism.Biogerontology · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introduction2,4-dinitrophenol (DNP) is a mitochondrial toxin sometimes used as a weight loss agent. Reports of fatalities from DNP have been increasing since 2000, suggesting an increase in use. Our understanding of DNP toxicity in humans comes from reports to Poison Control and postmortem analyses, sources that are biased to more extreme presentations. This leads to a gap in our knowledge about the adverse effects of DNP at nonlethal doses. Here we investigate the doses and effects of DNP as reported online.
methodsWe analyzed publicly available Internet posts that we collected from 2017-2019. The posts came from anonymous users or users who voluntarily self-identified. We collected data from websites whose terms of use allow for the secondary analysis of data that their users agree to make public. We used natural language processing techniques that we had previously developed to extract doses, effects, and substances mentioned in each post.
resultsWe collected 1,630 posts across 5 online forums and the Reddit forum r/DNP. The posts were from 1,234 unique usernames. The most commonly reported doses were between 150 to 300 mg each day followed by 300 to 450 mg each day. At those doses, the most reported adverse effects were profuse sweating and fatigue. Reports of thermoregulatory (sweating, feeling hot flashes or flushed), fatigue-related, and neurologically related symptoms were statistically significantly more frequent at reported daily doses greater than 150 mg than doses below 150 mg (post-hoc χ2-test with Bonferroni correction). The effects were judged as plausible by two board-certified medical toxicologists. Triiodothyronine, clenbuterol, testosterone, and trenbolone, an androgenic anabolic steroid were the most significantly co-mentioned substances.
conclusionsFatigue, increased body temperature, and paresthesias from DNP are reported more frequently at doses greater than 150 mg each day than at doses less than 150 mg each day. Online discussions of DNP frequently mention androgenic anabolic steroids and other weight loss agents.
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.