Peer Review History
| Original SubmissionDecember 10, 2025 |
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-->PONE-D-25-65931-->-->Heterogeneous Associations of Socioeconomic Status with Metabolic Disease in Racial and Ethnic Subgroups in the United States: A Cross-Sectional Cohort Study in NHANES and All Of Us-->-->PLOS One Dear Dr. Cromer, Thank you for submitting your manuscript to PLOS ONE. After careful consideration, we feel that it has merit but does not fully meet PLOS ONE’s publication criteria as it currently stands. Therefore, we invite you to submit a revised version of the manuscript that addresses the points raised during the review process. Please submit your revised manuscript by May 28 2026 11:59PM. If you will need more time than this to complete your revisions, please reply to this message or contact the journal office at plosone@plos.org. When you're ready to submit your revision, log on to https://www.editorialmanager.com/pone/ and select the 'Submissions Needing Revision' folder to locate your manuscript file. Please include the following items when submitting your revised manuscript:-->
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Please see our Supporting Information guidelines for more information: http://journals.plos.org/plosone/s/supporting-information. 6. If the reviewer comments include a recommendation to cite specific previously published works, please review and evaluate these publications to determine whether they are relevant and should be cited. There is no requirement to cite these works unless the editor has indicated otherwise. Additional Editor Comments: Authors may explain the reason to restrict the continuous NHANES data (1999-2023) to only 1999-2018 in this study. Also, there is an updated release of All of Us Research Program data version 8 that could be used for this study. Regarding complex survey design and weights of NHANES, authors may add more details about the used weights (fasting and MEC weights in the case of this study) to make the results nationally representative. Regarding the logistic regression models, it is essential to mention if the models were survey-weighted too. Regarding Tables 1 and 2, there are discrepancies on NHANES 2011-2018 column headers and the summarized data for 1999-2018. Regarding the wide period of study data and the issue of income comparability, it’s needed to consider measures to adjust for inflation, as income levels across a decade might not be directly comparable. [Note: HTML markup is below. Please do not edit.] Reviewers' comments: Reviewer's Responses to Questions -->Comments to the Author 1. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions? The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented. --> Reviewer #1: Yes Reviewer #2: Yes ********** -->2. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously? --> Reviewer #1: Yes Reviewer #2: Yes ********** -->3. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available? The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.--> Reviewer #1: Yes Reviewer #2: Yes ********** -->4. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English? PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here.--> Reviewer #1: Yes Reviewer #2: Yes ********** -->5. Review Comments to the Author Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)--> Reviewer #1: I would first like to congratulate the authors for investigating heterogeneity in socioeconomic status (SES). The paper is timely and well written, with strong conceptual framing, robust methodology, and a large sample size. The study applies the Minorities’ Diminished Returns (MDRs) framework (Assari, 2018) and shows that SES indicators are associated with protection against cardiometabolic disorders; however, these protective effects appear weaker for Black and Latino populations and strongest for White and Asian American groups. Below are several areas that may benefit from further development: Disease-specific MDRs literature MDRs have been documented across several cardiometabolic outcomes, including obesity, cardiovascular disease, metabolic conditions, and diabetes. Incorporating and discussing these disease-specific findings would strengthen the discussion by situating the current results within existing evidence and demonstrating replication across outcomes. NHANES-based MDRs studies Previous MDRs research has used NHANES data to demonstrate diminished health returns among Black, Latino, and Native American populations. Because the current study also uses NHANES, citing and discussing these prior analyses would provide an additional layer of study-specific support and contextual replication. Beyond race/ethnicity: other marginalized identities MDRs have also been reported for other marginalized groups, including sexual minorities (e.g., LGBT populations) and individuals facing marginalization based on nativity or immigration status. Expanding the discussion to acknowledge these broader patterns may help position MDRs as a more general framework related to structural marginalization rather than race/ethnicity alone. Mechanisms underlying MDRs MDRs should not be interpreted as a “magical” or unexplained process. A growing literature has identified potential mechanisms. For example, high-SES Black individuals may show weaker improvements in health behaviors such as physical activity and fruit and vegetable intake, higher exposure to stress and discrimination, elevated depressive symptoms, lower returns in income and pay despite education, poorer job quality, and continued exposure to disadvantaged neighborhood environments. These factors are all known predictors of cardiometabolic risk and may help explain why cardiometabolic conditions remain elevated among high-SES Black and Latino populations despite socioeconomic gains. Discussing these mechanisms would strengthen the interpretive depth of the paper. Reviewer #2: The purpose of this analysis was to examine the intersection of socioeconomic indicators and race/ethnicity on the prevalence of type 2 diabetes and obesity. This fills a gap in our understanding of how different measures of SES may be associated with these outcomes and how that effect may be heterogeneous by race and ethnicity in the US. Overall, I found this to be a very interesting, well-written, and considered manuscript. I was particularly intrigued because it uses NHANES, an extremely valuable cross-sectional dataset, and All of Us, a newer dataset with a different sampling paradigm and data collection process. Major concerns p7, line 163 - while standardizing to the projected 2000 population has been done for many years, two additional censuses have occurred since then to reflect our national composition. I would have preferred to see a more recent reference population or justification for why more recent counts were unsuitable for this analysis. Figure 3 fairly clearly shows that stratified by income, in the NHANES data, the effect of different levels of income are rather consistent within categories of race/ethnicity whereas in AoU, we see that “dose-response” also seen in the educational attainment analysis. I would like the authors to address this difference more thoroughly in the discussion and whether one data source should be weighted heavier in our interpretation than the other or whether both can be simultaneously true. Minor concerns p21, line 423 - here you assert that educational attainment predates T2D onset; however, with the concerning prevalence of obesity among children, I fear that this is a weak argument without support evidence [here I acknowledge my own ignorance of T2D prevalence, but knowing its tie to obesity and the rates of obesity in children, I felt obligated to point out where your argument needs bolstering] p22, lines 438 - 442 - you list a lot of different factors that could play into why the results we see in NHANES and AoU may be different, but you give no indication on how they could have affected result estimates or if any of those differences makes you more or less confident in the results. ********** -->6. PLOS authors have the option to publish the peer review history of their article (what does this mean?). If published, this will include your full peer review and any attached files. If you choose “no”, your identity will remain anonymous but your review may still be made public. Do you want your identity to be public for this peer review? For information about this choice, including consent withdrawal, please see our Privacy Policy.--> Reviewer #1: No Reviewer #2: Yes: Lauren Parlett ********** [NOTE: If reviewer comments were submitted as an attachment file, they will be attached to this email and accessible via the submission site. Please log into your account, locate the manuscript record, and check for the action link "View Attachments". If this link does not appear, there are no attachment files.] To ensure your figures meet our technical requirements, please review our figure guidelines: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/s/figures You may also use PLOS’s free figure tool, NAAS, to help you prepare publication quality figures: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/s/figures#loc-tools-for-figure-preparation. NAAS will assess whether your figures meet our technical requirements by comparing each figure against our figure specifications. |
| Revision 1 |
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Heterogeneous Associations of Socioeconomic Status with Metabolic Disease in Racial and Ethnic Subgroups in the United States: A Cross-Sectional Cohort Study in NHANES and All Of Us PONE-D-25-65931R1 Dear Dr. Cromer, We’re pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it meets all outstanding technical requirements. Within one week, you’ll receive an e-mail detailing the required amendments. When these have been addressed, you’ll receive a formal acceptance letter and your manuscript will be scheduled for publication. An invoice will be generated when your article is formally accepted. Please note, if your institution has a publishing partnership with PLOS and your article meets the relevant criteria, all or part of your publication costs will be covered. 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If the authors have adequately addressed your comments raised in a previous round of review and you feel that this manuscript is now acceptable for publication, you may indicate that here to bypass the “Comments to the Author” section, enter your conflict of interest statement in the “Confidential to Editor” section, and submit your "Accept" recommendation.--> Reviewer #1: (No Response) Reviewer #2: All comments have been addressed ********** -->2. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions? The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented. --> Reviewer #1: (No Response) Reviewer #2: (No Response) ********** -->3. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously? --> Reviewer #1: (No Response) Reviewer #2: (No Response) ********** -->4. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available? The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.--> Reviewer #1: (No Response) Reviewer #2: (No Response) ********** -->5. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English? PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here.--> Reviewer #1: (No Response) Reviewer #2: (No Response) ********** -->6. Review Comments to the Author Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)--> Reviewer #1: Congratulations for the very high quality and detailed revision. All sections and aspects of the paper are improved, and all of my comments and concerns are addressed. The paper is much stronger, and it is ready for publication. Reviewer #2: (No Response) ********** -->7. PLOS authors have the option to publish the peer review history of their article (what does this mean?). If published, this will include your full peer review and any attached files. If you choose “no”, your identity will remain anonymous but your review may still be made public. Do you want your identity to be public for this peer review? For information about this choice, including consent withdrawal, please see our Privacy Policy.--> Reviewer #1: No Reviewer #2: Yes: Lauren Parlett ********** |
| Formally Accepted |
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PONE-D-25-65931R1 PLOS One Dear Dr. Cromer, I'm pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been deemed suitable for publication in PLOS One. Congratulations! Your manuscript is now being handed over to our production team. At this stage, our production department will prepare your paper for publication. This includes ensuring the following: * All references, tables, and figures are properly cited * All relevant supporting information is included in the manuscript submission, * There are no issues that prevent the paper from being properly typeset You will receive further instructions from the production team, including instructions on how to review your proof when it is ready. Please keep in mind that we are working through a large volume of accepted articles, so please give us a few days to review your paper and let you know the next and final steps. Lastly, if your institution or institutions have a press office, please let them know about your upcoming paper now to help maximize its impact. If they'll be preparing press materials, please inform our press team within the next 48 hours. Your manuscript will remain under strict press embargo until 2 pm Eastern Time on the date of publication. For more information, please contact onepress@plos.org. You will receive an invoice from PLOS for your publication fee after your manuscript has reached the completed accept phase. If you receive an email requesting payment before acceptance or for any other service, this may be a phishing scheme. Learn how to identify phishing emails and protect your accounts at https://explore.plos.org/phishing. If we can help with anything else, please email us at customercare@plos.org. Thank you for submitting your work to PLOS ONE and supporting open access. Kind regards, PLOS ONE Editorial Office Staff on behalf of Dr. Sina Azadnajafabad Academic Editor PLOS One |
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