PCORnet® Resources are Powering Impactful Metabolic Research
PCORnet® is intended to improve the nation’s capacity to efficiently conduct patient-centered health research, particularly comparative clinical effectiveness research (CER), by providing a large, highly representative network of health data, research expertise, and patient insights. PCORnet has been developed with funding from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute® (PCORI®).
September 2025
Download Metabolic Research Summary
Researchers are using PCORnet to improve patient outcomes by fueling the kind of large-scale research needed to better understand how different metabolic pathways interact.
Metabolic disruption is the basis of major global health burdens, including diabetes, obesity, heart failure, and cancer.
METABOLIC HEALTH STUDIES POWERED BY PCORNET®
Which of the two classes of diabetes medications shown to lower heart disease risk works better?
The Study: PRECIDENTD (PREvention of CardIovascular and DiabEtic kidNey disease in Type 2 Diabetes)
Funder: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute® (PCORI®)
Population: 6,000 participants across eight study sites with type 2 diabetes who are
- Over age 40 and have had a heart attack, stroke, or stents to open their blood vessels
- Over age 60 with A1C above 8, chronic kidney disease, or who smoke
Using PCORnet, researchers could:
- Collaborate with Patient Partners to design study endpoints and participant engagement materials
- Leverage the PCORnet® Common Data Model to standardize electronic health record (EHR) data across sites
- Link EHR data and patient reports to determine study outcomes
Can digital tools added to pediatric care reduce obesity in children ages 0-2?
The Study: Greenlight Plus
Funder: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute® (PCORI®)
Population: 900 parent-infant pairs across six U.S. medical centers
Using PCORnet, researchers could:
- Leverage the PCORnet® Common Data Model to standardize EHR data across sites
- Streamline reviews for multiple sites through a single IRB
Results were published in JAMA
PCORnet resources are available to researchers, patient groups, industry, and agencies from all funding sources and affiliations. PCORI also offers funding for broad pragmatic studies using PCORnet.
Are you ready to find out how PCORnet can support your next research effort? Contact the PCORnet® Front Door to start the conversation.
THE BARIATRIC STUDY: HEALTH INSIGHTS USING PCORnet® RESOURCES
Funder: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute® (PCORI®)
How do type 2 diabetes outcomes compare across popular bariatric procedures?
Which bariatric procedure is most effective for weight loss?
- Population: Cohort of 9,710 with type 2 diabetes from 36,871 patients who underwent a primary bypass or sleeve gastrectomy
- Using PCORnet, researchers could:
- Conduct the cohort study across 34 sites participating in PCORnet
- Extract relevant de-identified data from participating sites
Results published in JAMA Surgery
“PCORnet has established partnerships across the nation’s leading health systems that allowed us to conduct bariatric research at the largest scale to date with patient data that is secure and fully de-identified.”
Kathleen McTigue
Co-principal Investigator, PCORnet® Bariatric Study
- Population: Retrospective observational cohort study of 65,073 participants:
- Evaluated weight loss and safety across three interventions:
- Roux-en-Y gastric bypass
- Sleeve gastrectomy
- Adjustable gastric band
- Evaluated weight loss and safety across three interventions:
- Using PCORnet, researchers could:
- Identify bariatric procedures from >100 million patient records in 41 health systems
Weight loss results published in the Annals of Internal Medicine
Safety results published in JAMA Surgery
WHY OTHER STUDY TEAMS AND PATIENT PARTNERS CHOOSE TO WORK WITH PCORNET
“I see PCORnet as key to supporting discoveries from the bench to bedside. We’re excited about the future, and we think that PCORnet is a very important tool.”
Mariell Jessup
Chief Science and Medical Officer at the American Heart Association
“I am thrilled to be a part of this important research, which will bring more clarity to the relationship between bariatric surgery and cancer—a question that is certainly of great interest to bariatric surgery recipients like me.”
Neely Williams
Bariatric surgery patient and member of the PCORnet® Steering Committee
PCORnet is a national resource, funded by PCORI, that enables insights from high-quality health data, patient partnership, and research expertise to deliver fast, trustworthy answers that advance health outcomes. The network supports both observational and interventional research.