Association between rs9930506 polymorphism of the fat mass & obesity-associated (FTO) gene & onset of obesity in Polish adults

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES The fat mass and obesity-associated (FTO) gene is known to be associated with obesity. However, no data are available on the relation between FTO rs9930506 polymorphism and obesity in Polish population. The aim of this study was to evaluate an association between rs9930506 variants of the FTO gene and obesity in Polish adults. METHODS The study group consisted of 442 adults, aged 33.9 ±12.7 yr, with mean BMI 27.2 ± 5.4 kg/m2. The following variables were determined for each subject: fasting blood glucose, total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, and triglycerides. Real-time PCR was used to detect the A/G alleles of the rs9939506 polymorphism in the FTO gene. An association between the rs9930506 polymorphism and obesity was determined using codominant, dominant, and recessive models. The odds ratio (OR) was calculated to determine the risk of obesity associated with this polymorphism. RESULTS It was observed that the presence of FTO rs9939506 G allele was associated with increased risk for obesity and this association was found significant in both recessive (OR = 1.72, P = 0.014) and co-dominant (OR = 1.36, P = 0.031) models of inheritance. The FTO rs9939506 GG homozygotes had a significantly higher BMI than those with other genotypes. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSIONS This study shows that FTO rs9939506 GG genotype is related to higher BMI and is associated with obesity in Polish adults.