ArticlePloS one2026
Body fat percentage is independently associated with lower pulmonary function in Korean never-smokers: A cross-sectional analysis of 33,748 adults.
Article in PloS one, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
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
backgroundThe relationship between obesity and pulmonary function is difficult to interpret using body mass index (BMI) alone because BMI cannot distinguish adiposity from lean mass. This study evaluated whether body fat percentage (BF%) is more strongly associated with pulmonary function than BMI in Korean never-smokers.
methodsWe retrospectively analyzed 33,748 never-smoking adults who underwent spirometry and bioelectrical impedance analysis during health screenings between January 2007 and December 2014. Pulmonary function was assessed using forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV₁) from pre-bronchodilator spirometry. Participants were stratified by BF% quartiles. Multivariable linear regression was used to evaluate the association between BF% and lung function after adjustment for age, BMI, waist circumference, and metabolic factors. In sensitivity analyses, lung function impairment was defined using lower limit of normal (LLN) criteria, and multivariable logistic regression was applied to evaluate restrictive and obstructive patterns.
resultsHigher BF% was consistently associated with lower FVC and FEV₁ in both sexes across all BMI categories (all P < 0.001). After full adjustment, individuals in the lowest BF% quartile demonstrated significantly higher lung function than those in the highest quartile (β for FVC: + 0.65 L in men and +0.36 L in women; β for FEV₁: + 0.46 L in men and +0.28 L in women; all P < 0.05). These associations were most pronounced in younger men and in individuals with BMI ≥ 25 kg/m². In LLN-based analyses, elevated BF% was independently associated with a markedly increased risk of restrictive impairment in both men (OR 3.31, 95% CI 2.46-4.47) and women (OR 3.19, 95% CI 2.69-3.79), whereas no independent association was observed with obstructive patterns.
conclusionBF% is independently and inversely associated with pulmonary function and is selectively linked to restrictive ventilatory impairment, offering more refined respiratory risk stratification than BMI in Korean never-smokers.
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.