The following is a summary of “Obesity, diabetes, Plasmodium Infection, and severe malaria in adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis,” published in the August 2024 issue of Infectious Disease by Lee et al.

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to assess the relationship between obesity, diabetes, Plasmodium infection, and the severity of malaria in the adult population.

They conducted a thorough search of relevant studies across multiple databases, including EMBASE, MEDLINE, Global Health, and CINAHL. The main focus was on examining obesity and diabetes as the primary exposures. The primary outcomes investigated were Plasmodium infection and severe malaria. To synthesize the data, comprehensive meta-analyses, pooling both unadjusted and aORs were performed using a random-effects model.

The results showed that 9 studies met the inclusion criteria, and none examined the link between obesity and *Plasmodium* infection. The meta-analysis results indicated no significant relationship between obesity and severe malaria (2 studies), diabetes and *Plasmodium* infection (5 studies), or diabetes and severe malaria (3 studies).

Investigators concluded that obesity did not influence severe malaria risk, and diabetes was unrelated to both Plasmodium infection and severe malaria, suggesting a need for further research to clarify the associations.

Source: academic.oup.com/jid/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/infdis/jiae377/7721308