Abstract
BackgroundGenetic and environmental factors play a crucial role in the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and obesity. This study aimed to investigate the association of the fat-mass and obesity-associated gene (FTO) rs9939609 variant with T2DM and body mass index (BMI) among Palestinian population.MethodsA total of 399 subjects were recruited, of whom 281 were type 2 diabetic patients and 118 normoglycemic subjects. All of them were unrelated, aged > 40 years and recruited within the period 2016–2017. The A allele of FTO rs9939609 was identified by PCR–RFLP.ResultsSignificant association of the minor allele A of FTO rs9939609 and T2DM risk was observed with an allelic odd ratio of 1.92 (95% CI [1.09–3.29], p = 0.02) adjusted for age and gender, this association partly attenuated when adjusted for BMI with OR of 1.84, (95%CI [1.04–3.05], p = 0.03). Stratified data by glycemic status across FTO genotypes showed that A allele was marginally associated with increased BMI among diabetic group (p = 0.057) but not in control group (p = 0.7). Moreover, no significant association was observed between FTO genotypes and covariates of age, gender, T2DM complications or any tested metabolic trait in both diabetic and nondiabetic individuals (p > 0.05).ConclusionsThe variant rs9939609 of the FTO gene was associated with T2DM in Palestine. This is the first study conducted on this gene in the Palestinian population and provides valuable information for comparison with other ethnic groups. Further analysis with larger sample size is required to elucidate the role of this variant on the predisposition to increased BMI in Palestinians.
Highlights
Genetic and environmental factors play a crucial role in the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and obesity
A sex-specific effect of fat-mass and obesity-associated gene (FTO) variants on susceptibility to obesity have been shown, a study -in 2016- indicated that the effect of FTO variants on T2DM susceptibility in Japanese men but not women is mediated through FTO effect on body mass index (BMI) [11]
We noted that the association of FTO variant rs9939609 with T2DM was partially attenuated by adjusting for BMI with odd ratio of 1.84, 95%CI (1.04– 3.05) p = 0.03, suggesting that the FTO -T2DM association was not completely mediated through FTO variant effect on BMI
Summary
Genetic and environmental factors play a crucial role in the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and obesity. This study aimed to investigate the association of the fat-mass and obesity-associated gene (FTO) rs9939609 variant with T2DM and body mass index (BMI) among Palestinian population. Polymorphisms within the fat-mass and obesity-associated gene (FTO) are of particular interest as they have known effect on obesity which is a major risk factor for T2DM. A sex-specific effect of FTO variants on susceptibility to obesity have been shown, a study -in 2016- indicated that the effect of FTO variants on T2DM susceptibility in Japanese men but not women is mediated through FTO effect on BMI [11]. In 2018, a case control study conducted on obese Iranian women showed that several FTO variants including rs9939609 were associated with T2DM and obesity as well [12]. The reported results were not consistent in different ethnic population
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