Evidence mapPaperPMID 31544340Full record

ReviewObesity (Silver Spring, Md.)2019

Lipedema: A Call to Action!

Giacomo Buso, Michele Depairon, Didier Tomson, Wassim Raffoul, Roberto Vettor, Lucia Mazzolai

3 registry-linked trialsOpen access · hybridAbstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.), 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 3 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 82 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
82citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
4.8field-weighted citation impact, top 4% 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.

NCT06196619 completednot on this mapstarted 2023, after this paper: background citation

The Relationship of Shear Wave Elastography Findings With Pain Threshold and Quality of Life in Patients With Lipedema

Typeobservational_patient_registrySponsorFatih Sultan Mehmet Training and Research HospitalRan2023 to 2023Enrolled70ConditionsPain, LipedemaArmsSWE:B-mode ultrasound and subcutaneous elastic modulus with shear wave elastography at three level
NCT07072780 nacompletednot on this mapstarted 2023, after this paper: background citation

Effectiveness of a Novel Low-level Laser Therapy Protocol in Managing Breast Cancer-Related Lymphedema

TypeinterventionalSponsorPusan National University HospitalRan2023 to 2024Enrolled46ConditionsBreast CancerArmsLow-Level Laser Therapy (904 nm), Low-Level Laser Therapy (650 nm), Sham Laser Therapy
NCT07724483 recruitingnot on this mapstarted 2026, after this paper: background citation

Ultrasonographic Evaluation and Pedobarographic Correlation of Lower Extremity Muscles in Lipedema Patients

Typeobservational_patient_registrySponsorMarmara UniversityRan2026 to 2026Enrolled90ConditionsLipedema
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

82 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 169 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Lipedema: Progress, Challenges, and the Road Ahead.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2025
    Pooled it
  4. Trial
  5. Article
  6. Review
  7. Review
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Review
  11. Lipedema Reduction Surgery Outcomes and Comorbidities: A Retrospective Study.Plastic and reconstructive surgery. Global open · 2026
    Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Disordered eating risk and well-being in women with lipedema.Frontiers in global women's health · 2026
    Article
  15. Review
  16. Vascular changes and their implications in lipedema.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2026
    Review
  17. Article
  18. More than meets the eye: phenomenological insights into the functioning of people with lipoedema.International journal of qualitative studies on health and well-being · 2025
    Article
  19. Article
  20. Review

22 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

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

6 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Giacomo BusoAngiology Division, Heart and Vessel Department, Lausanne University Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland.ORCID 0000-0002-5645-9553
Michele DepaironAngiology Division, Heart and Vessel Department, Lausanne University Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Didier TomsonAngiology Division, Heart and Vessel Department, Lausanne University Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Wassim RaffoulPlastic Surgery Division, Locomotor System Department, Lausanne University Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Roberto VettorDepartment of Medicine, Center for the Study and the Integrated Management of Obesity (EASO COM), Padova University Hospital, Padova, Italy.
Lucia MazzolaiAngiology Division, Heart and Vessel Department, Lausanne University Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland.
University of Lausanne · CHUniversity of Padua · IT

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Lipedema is a chronic progressive disease characterized by abnormal fat distribution resulting in disproportionate, painful limbs. It almost exclusively affects women, leading to considerable disability, daily functioning impairment, and psychosocial distress. Literature shows both scarce and conflicting data regarding its prevalence. Lipedema has been considered a rare entity by several authors, though it may be a far more frequent condition than thought. Despite the clinical impact on women's health, lipedema is in fact mostly unknown, underdiagnosed, and too often misdiagnosed with other similarly presenting diseases. Polygenic susceptibility combined with hormonal, microvascular, and lymphatic disorders may be partly responsible for its development. Furthermore, consistent information on lipedema pathophysiology is still lacking, and an etiological treatment is not yet available. Weight loss measures exhibit minimal effect on the abnormal body fat distribution, resulting in eating disorders, increased obesity risk, depression, and other psychological complaints. Surgical techniques, such as liposuction and excisional lipectomy, represent therapeutic options in selected cases. This review aims to outline current evidence regarding lipedema epidemiology, pathophysiology, clinical presentation, differential diagnosis, and management. Increased awareness and a better understanding of its clinical presentation and pathophysiology are warranted to enable clinicians to diagnose and treat affected patients at an earlier stage.

Indexed as

LipedemaBody Fat DistributionDiagnosis, DifferentialFemaleHumansLipectomyMaleObesity

Identifiers

PMID31544340
PMCPMC6790573
OpenAlexW2976260622

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

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 Socratic graph.