{
  "abstract": "Background: Erythritol is a non-nutritive sweetener that is also endogenously produced from glucose. We investigated whether declines in plasma erythritol and other sugar alcohols (polyols) in response to weight-loss dietary interventions were significantly associated with long-term improvements in glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity.\n\nMethods: Plasma erythritol, mannitol/sorbitol, and arabitol/xylitol were repeatedly measured among adults with overweight or obesity who participated in the POUNDS Lost trial (n = 802 at baseline and n = 664 at 6 months). We analyzed associations of changes in erythritol, mannitol/sorbitol, and arabitol/xylitol from baseline to 6 months with changes in homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), fasting insulin, fasting glucose, and HbA1c at 6 months and 2 years of intervention.\n\nResults: Plasma erythritol levels were positively related to HOMA-IR, fasting insulin, and glycemic markers at baseline. Greater declines in plasma erythritol in response to the interventions were associated with greater reductions in HOMA-IR (p < 0.001) and fasting insulin (p < 0.001) at 6 months. Similar associations were found for changes in arabitol/xylitol, but not for mannitol/sorbitol. Every 1 SD reduction in plasma erythritol during the initial 6-month period was related to long-term (2-year) decreases in log-transformed HOMA-IR (β [SE] –0.07 [0.02], p = 0.008) and glycemic markers (β –1.0 [0.44] mg/dL, p = 0.025 for fasting glucose; β –0.05% [0.02%], p = 0.019 for HbA1c).\n\nConclusion: Declines in plasma erythritol may be related to long-term improvements in insulin sensitivity and glycemic status during weight-loss dietary interventions in adults with overweight or obesity.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Epidemiology, Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA USA",
    "Department of Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA USA",
    "Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA USA",
    "Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA USA"
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 7,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Yoriko Heianza",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-0957-9309"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Jennifer C. Rood",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-5848-2987"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Catherine M. Champagne"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        3
      ],
      "name": "Frank B. Hu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "George A. Bray",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-9945-8772"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Frank M. Sacks"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Lu Qi",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-8041-7791"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/92b9wbqw92pqd.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1038/s41366-026-02152-w",
  "fulltext_url": "https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13722594/",
  "id": "92b9wbqw92pqd",
  "issns": [
    "0307-0565",
    "1476-5497"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41366-026-02152-w",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "Article"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2712|Diet, Metabolism, and Disease"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7169758428",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.nature.com/articles/s41366-026-02152-w.pdf",
  "pmcid": "PMC13722594",
  "pmid": "42477477",
  "published": "2026-07-21",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/92b9wbqw92pqd.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-04T12:21:23Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13722594",
      "source": "pmc",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41366-026-02152-w"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "openalex:2712|Diet, Metabolism, and Disease",
      "subfield": "endocrinology-metabolism"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Declines in plasma erythritol levels and improvements in insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism: POUNDS lost trial",
  "title_text": "Declines in plasma erythritol levels and improvements in insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism: POUNDS lost trial",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-04T12:21:23Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/92b9wbqw92pqd",
  "venue": "International Journal of Obesity (2005)",
  "versions": []
}