Association Study of Three Gene Polymorphisms Recently Identified by a Genome-Wide Association Study with Obesity-Related Phenotypes in Chinese Children

• Main Authors: Qi-Ying Song, Jie-Yun Song, Yang Wang, Shuo Wang, Yi-De Yang, Xiang-Rui Meng, Jun Ma, Hai-Jun Wang, Yan Wang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Karger Publishers 2017-06-01
• Series: Obesity Facts
• Subjects: Obesity; BMI; Gene; Polymorphism; Children
• Online Access: http://www.karger.com/Article/FullText/471487
• ISSN: 1662-4025; 1662-4033

Objective: This study aimed to examine associations of three single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with obesity-related phenotypes in Chinese children. These SNPs were identified by a recent genome-wide association (GWA) study among European children. Given that varied genetic backgrounds across different ethnicity may result in different association, it is necessary to study these associations in a different ethnic population. Methods: A total of 3,922 children, including 2,191 normal-weight, 873 overweight and 858 obese children, from three independent studies were included in the study. Logistic and linear regressions were performed, and meta-analyses were conducted to assess the associations between the SNPs and obesity-related phenotypes. Results: The pooled odds ratios of the A-allele of rs564343 in PACS1 for obesity and severe obesity were 1.180 (p = 0.03) and 1.312 (p = 0.004), respectively. We also found that rs564343 was nominally associated with BMI, BMI standard deviation score (BMI-SDS), waist circumference, and waist-to-height ratio (p Conclusions: We showed for the first time that the rs564343 in PACS1 was associated with risk of severe obesity in a non-European population. This SNP was also found to be associated with common obesity and various obesity-related phenotypes in Chinese children, which had not been reported in the original study. The results demonstrated the value of conducting genetic researches in populations with different ethnicity.