Expanded 2-paragraph summary at 6th grade reading level:

This study looked at whether using kratom, a plant from Southeast Asia, was linked to having a health condition called metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is when someone has a combination of problems like high blood sugar, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. The researchers studied over 500 people, some who used kratom and some who didn’t. They found that people who used kratom were less likely to have metabolic syndrome compared to people who
didn’t use kratom. This was because kratom users had smaller waists, lower triglycerides (a type of fat in the blood), and higher good cholesterol levels. The researchers think this is because kratom contains chemicals that can help control these health factors.

This study was done in the real world, not in a lab. The researchers worked with people in a community in Thailand where kratom use is common. They interviewed the people, took their blood samples, and measured things like their blood pressure and cholesterol levels to see if they had metabolic syndrome.

Key takeaways:

• Kratom use was linked to a lower risk of metabolic syndrome
• Kratom users had smaller waists, lower triglycerides, and higher good cholesterol
• The study was done on humans, not animals, in a real-world community setting
• The researchers think kratom’s chemical compounds may help control these health factors

For further reading:

Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844022009764

Full Citation:

La-up, A., Wongrith, P., Chaichan, W., Aramrattana, A., & Saengow, U. (2022). Association between kratom (Mitragyna speciosa) use and metabolic syndrome. Heliyon, 8, e09468.