Evidence mapPaperPMID 40437494Full record

ArticleBMC medicine2025

Disentangling the divergent causal pathways underlying the association between body mass index and bone mineral density: a comprehensive Mendelian randomization study.

Xunying Zhao, Lin He, Xueyao Wu, Li Zhang, Jinyu Xiao, Changfeng Xiao, Yang Qu, Jingwei Zhu, Chenjiarui Qin, Deqin Huang and 6 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC medicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing 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

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
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  4. Review
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

16 authors.

Xunying Zhao *Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics and West China Institute of Preventive and Medical Integration for Major Diseases, West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
Lin He *Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics and West China Institute of Preventive and Medical Integration for Major Diseases, West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
Xueyao WuDepartment of Epidemiology and Health Statistics and West China Institute of Preventive and Medical Integration for Major Diseases, West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
Li ZhangDepartment of Epidemiology and Health Statistics and West China Institute of Preventive and Medical Integration for Major Diseases, West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
Jinyu XiaoDepartment of Epidemiology and Health Statistics and West China Institute of Preventive and Medical Integration for Major Diseases, West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
Changfeng XiaoDepartment of Epidemiology and Health Statistics and West China Institute of Preventive and Medical Integration for Major Diseases, West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
Yang QuDepartment of Epidemiology and Health Statistics and West China Institute of Preventive and Medical Integration for Major Diseases, West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
Jingwei ZhuDepartment of Epidemiology and Health Statistics and West China Institute of Preventive and Medical Integration for Major Diseases, West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
Chenjiarui QinDepartment of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, West China, China.
Deqin HuangDepartment of Epidemiology and Health Statistics and West China Institute of Preventive and Medical Integration for Major Diseases, West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
Pengyue ShenDepartment of Epidemiology and Health Statistics and West China Institute of Preventive and Medical Integration for Major Diseases, West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
Tao HanDepartment of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, West China, China.
Mengyu FanDepartment of Epidemiology and Health Statistics and West China Institute of Preventive and Medical Integration for Major Diseases, West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
Jiayuan LiDepartment of Epidemiology and Health Statistics and West China Institute of Preventive and Medical Integration for Major Diseases, West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China. lijiayuan@scu.edu.cn.
Stephen BurgessMRC Biostatistics Unit, Cambridge Institute of Public Health, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK. sb452@medschl.cam.ac.uk.
Xia JiangDepartment of Epidemiology and Health Statistics and West China Institute of Preventive and Medical Integration for Major Diseases, West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China. xia.jiang@ki.se.

Funding

the Experimental Discipline Revitalization Plan of West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital 2023SY-03the Recruitment Program for Young Professionals of China, the Science Fund for Creative Research Groups of Science and Technology Bureau of Sichuan Province 2024NSFTD0030Wellcome Trust 225790
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundWhile the protective role of body mass index (BMI) in bone mass has been well-documented, the divergent associations between BMI and estimated bone mineral density (eBMD), attributed to its highly heterogeneous nature, remain insufficiently understood.

methodsLeveraging the hitherto largest genome-wide summary statistics, we conducted a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) to re-evaluate the effect of genetically predicted BMI on eBMD. Then, MR-Clust was applied to examine the potential presence of distinct causal pathways underlying the BMI-eBMD link. Utilizing tissue-partitioned MR, we estimated the distinct effects of separated tissue-specific subcomponents of BMI on eBMD, further supplemented by multivariable MR of body composition phenotypes on eBMD.

resultsWe reconfirmed the significant positive association between genetically predicted BMI and eBMD (β

conclusionsOur results shed preliminary insights into the intricate relationship between obesity and bone mass, highlighting divergent causal pathways underlying the association between BMI and eBMD. Our findings emphasize the potential importance of precision obesity management over merely a general indicator as BMI in future public health strategies for osteoporosis prevention.

Indexed as

Body Mass IndexBone DensityMendelian Randomization AnalysisBody CompositionGenome-Wide Association StudyHumansMaleBody mass indexCausal inferenceDivergent causal pathwaysEstimated bone mineral densityMendelian randomization

Identifiers

PMID40437494
PMCPMC12121138

What Socratic holds

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Registered trials

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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.