The Effects of Obesity on Outcome in Preclinical Animal Models of Infection and Sepsis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background . Clinical studies suggest obesity paradoxically increases survival during bacterial infection and sepsis but decreases it with influenza, but these studies are observational. By contrast, animal studies of obesity in infection can prospectively compare obese versus nonobese controls. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of animal investigations to further examine obesity’s survival effect in infection and sepsis....