Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40195935›Full record

ArticleJournal of fish biology2025

Cause or consequence? Exploring authors' interpretations of correlations between fish body condition and parasite infection.

Ryota Hasegawa, Robert Poulin

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of fish biology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors.

Ryota HasegawaGraduate School of Environmental Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3563-7031
Robert PoulinDepartment of Zoology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1390-1206

Funding

Japan Society for the Promotion of Science 202460294Japan Society for the Promotion of Science JP22KJ0086
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

We reviewed 194 publications that reported relationships between fish body condition indices (BCIs) and parasite infections, and examined the authors' intention behind this cross-sectional analysis, that is, whether authors interpreted the negative correlations as the negative effects of parasites or as fish with poor BCIs being more susceptible to infections. While 89% of studies only considered parasite infections as causes of poor BCI, studies acknowledging the opposite or bidirectional causal links were rare. We recommend considering both possibilities in any given fish host and parasite association.

Indexed as

body condition indexfisheriesfish healthhelminthparasitephysiological condition

Identifiers

PMID40195935
PMCPMC12360139

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.