Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40330547›Full record

ArticleEClinicalMedicine2025

The relationship between obesity and obstructive sleep apnea in four community-based cohorts: an individual participant data meta-analysis of 12,860 adults.

Neda Esmaeili, Laura Gell, Théo Imler, Mohammadreza Hajipour, Luigi Taranto-Montemurro, Ludovico Messineo, Katie L Stone, Scott A Sands, Najib Ayas, John Yee and 5 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in EClinicalMedicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 38 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
38citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
–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

38 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Sleep and Its Impact on the Success of Weight Loss Interventions in Adults With Excess Weight: A Systematic Review.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2026
    Pooled it
  2. Guideline
  3. Association of tirzepatide with changes in OSA-related measures based on baseline characteristics - post hoc analyses of SURMOUNT-OSA.Journal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine · 2026
    Trial
  4. Trial
  5. Review
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. From coexistence to causation: defining adiposity-attributable obstructive sleep apnea.Journal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine · 2026
    Article
  9. Review
  10. Sleep and obesity-known interactions and open questions.Journal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine · 2026
    Review
  11. Review
  12. Review
  13. Article
  14. Review
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Review
  20. 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

15 authors.

Neda EsmaeiliDivision of Sleep and Circadian Disorders, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Laura GellDivision of Sleep and Circadian Disorders, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Théo ImlerCenter for Investigation and Research in Sleep and Pulmonary Department, University Hospital of Lausanne, Lausanne University, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Mohammadreza HajipourDepartment of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Luigi Taranto-MontemurroDivision of Sleep and Circadian Disorders, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Ludovico MessineoDivision of Sleep and Circadian Disorders, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Katie L StoneDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Scott A SandsDivision of Sleep and Circadian Disorders, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Najib AyasDepartment of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
John YeeApnimed, USA.
John CroninApnimed, USA.
Raphael HeinzerCenter for Investigation and Research in Sleep and Pulmonary Department, University Hospital of Lausanne, Lausanne University, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Andrew WellmanDivision of Sleep and Circadian Disorders, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Susan RedlineDivision of Sleep and Circadian Disorders, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Ali AzarbarzinDivision of Sleep and Circadian Disorders, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.

Funding

Phenotyping Mechanistic Pathways for Adverse Health Outcomes in Sleep ApneaR01HL153874 · NHLBI · BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL · PI AZARBARZIN, ALI · 2020 to 2024
$3.3M
Novel physiologically-driven phenotypes for the prognosis of cardiovascular outcomes in sleep apnea: Toward precision medicine in sleep healthR21HL161766 · NHLBI · BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL · PI AZARBARZIN, ALI · 2022 to 2023
$279k
NHLBI NIH HHS R01 HL153874NHLBI NIH HHS R21 HL161766
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Obesity is a well-established risk factor for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). We assessed the reciprocal prevalence of obesity and OSA and how it varies by age and sex. Methods: Following a systematic review through March 27, 2025, the final sample included four community-based cohort studies in the US and Switzerland. OSA severity was quantified using the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI, all apneas plus hypopneas with ≥4% oxygen desaturation/hour). Random effects individual participant data (IPD) meta-analyses estimated prevalences. Logistic regression compared odds of OSA across weight groups. Findings: Among 12,860 adults (mean ± SD age: 66.6 ± 7.3 years), 7222 (56.2%) had OSA (AHI ≥5 events/h) and 3309 (25.7%) had obesity (BMI ≥30 kg/m Interpretation: Our analyses show that most adults with OSA do not have obesity, with 44.4% having overweight and 23.5% having normal weight or underweight. Obesity was more prevalent among females compared to males and in younger individuals (<65 years) compared to older individuals with OSA. Recognizing OSA is not exclusive to obesity highlights the need for personalized treatment plans. Funding: American Academy of Sleep Medicine, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, and Apnimed.

Indexed as

Apnea-hypopnea indexCommunity-based studyNon-obeseObesityOverweightSleep apnea

Identifiers

PMID40330547
PMCPMC12051718

What Socratic 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 Socratic graph.