Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40681816›Full record

ArticleInternational journal of obesity (2005)2025

Body mass index and infection risks in people with and without type 2 diabetes: A cohort study using electronic health records.

Iain M Carey, Tess Harris, Umar A R Chaudhry, Stephen DeWilde, Elizabeth S Limb, Liza Bowen, Selma Audi, Derek G Cook, Peter H Whincup, Naveed Sattar and 2 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in International journal of obesity (2005), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing 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

5 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Metabolic Syndrome Is Associated With Increased Risk ofOpen forum infectious diseases · 2026
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. 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

12 authors.

Iain M CareyPopulation Health Research Institute, St George's School of Health and Medical Sciences, City St George's, University of London, London, SW17 0RE, UK. sgjd450@sgul.ac.uk.ORCID 0000-0003-1099-8460
Tess HarrisPopulation Health Research Institute, St George's School of Health and Medical Sciences, City St George's, University of London, London, SW17 0RE, UK.
Umar A R ChaudhryPopulation Health Research Institute, St George's School of Health and Medical Sciences, City St George's, University of London, London, SW17 0RE, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-2618-9257
Stephen DeWildePopulation Health Research Institute, St George's School of Health and Medical Sciences, City St George's, University of London, London, SW17 0RE, UK.
Elizabeth S LimbPopulation Health Research Institute, St George's School of Health and Medical Sciences, City St George's, University of London, London, SW17 0RE, UK.
Liza BowenPopulation Health Research Institute, St George's School of Health and Medical Sciences, City St George's, University of London, London, SW17 0RE, UK.ORCID 0000-0001-8318-8421
Selma AudiPopulation Health Research Institute, St George's School of Health and Medical Sciences, City St George's, University of London, London, SW17 0RE, UK.ORCID 0000-0003-2174-7229
Derek G CookPopulation Health Research Institute, St George's School of Health and Medical Sciences, City St George's, University of London, London, SW17 0RE, UK.
Peter H WhincupPopulation Health Research Institute, St George's School of Health and Medical Sciences, City St George's, University of London, London, SW17 0RE, UK.
Naveed SattarSchool of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Health, BHF Glasgow Cardiovascular Research Centre, University of Glasgow, 126 University Place, Glasgow, G12 8TA, Scotland.ORCID 0000-0002-1604-2593
Arshia PanahlooSt George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Blackshaw Road, Tooting, London, SW17 0QT, UK.
Julia A CritchleyPopulation Health Research Institute, St George's School of Health and Medical Sciences, City St George's, University of London, London, SW17 0RE, UK.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundObservational studies have found U-shaped associations between body mass index (BMI) and infections. While people with type 2 diabetes (T2D) are generally more likely to live with obesity and be at higher risk of infections, it is unknown whether BMI has the same impact on infection risk in people with and without diabetes, and whether this varies by type of infection.

methods516,935 people with T2D and 751,909 people without diabetes, aged 18-90 and alive on 1/1/2015 with BMI measured during 2011-14 matched on age, sex and ethnicity in the Clinical Practice Research Datalink. Infections during 2015-19 were collated from primary care and linked hospitalisation records. Poisson regression estimated incidence rate ratios (IRR) for infection, across 12 BMI categories (from ≤19 kg/m

resultsPeople with T2D were at higher infection risk than people without diabetes at all BMI levels, however the pattern observed at different BMI levels was similar in both groups (e.g. BMI >48 compared to BMI >24-≤26, T2D IRR = 2.35, 95%CI 2.26-2.44, non-diabetes IRR = 2.52, 95%CI 2.30-2.75 for hospitalisation-related infections). Hospitalisation-related infections showed a U-shaped association with BMI not explained by age, smoking or co-morbidity, whereas primary care infections were predominately associated with higher BMI levels only. Cellulitis showed the strongest trends in relation to high BMI levels, whilst lower respiratory tract infection and sepsis were related to both high and low BMI levels.

conclusionsInfection risks are consistently higher for people with T2D but the association with increasing levels of BMI appears similar both in patients with and without diabetes. Additionally, being underweight is also associated with increased risk of infections requiring hospitalisation.

Indexed as

Body Mass IndexDiabetes Mellitus, Type 2InfectionsObesityAdolescentAdultAgedAged, 80 and overCohort StudiesElectronic Health RecordsFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedRisk FactorsUnited Kingdom

Identifiers

PMID40681816
PMCPMC12463668

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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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.