Publication Date:
2014-09-20
Description:
Recent genetic association studies have identified 55 genetic loci associated with obesity or body mass index (BMI). The vast majority, 51 loci, however, were identified in European-ancestry populations. We conducted a meta-analysis of associations between BMI and ~2.5 million genotyped or imputed single nucleotide polymorphisms among 86 757 individuals of Asian ancestry, followed by in silico and de novo replication among 7488–47 352 additional Asian-ancestry individuals. We identified four novel BMI-associated loci near the KCNQ1 (rs2237892, P = 9.29 x 10 –13 ), ALDH2/MYL2 (rs671, P = 3.40 x 10 –11 ; rs12229654, P = 4.56 x 10 –9 ), ITIH4 (rs2535633, P = 1.77 x 10 –10 ) and NT5C2 (rs11191580, P = 3.83 x 10 –8 ) genes. The association of BMI with rs2237892, rs671 and rs12229654 was significantly stronger among men than among women. Of the 51 BMI-associated loci initially identified in European-ancestry populations, we confirmed eight loci at the genome-wide significance level ( P 〈 5.0 x 10 –8 ) and an additional 14 at P 〈 1.0 x 10 –3 with the same direction of effect as reported previously. Findings from this analysis expand our knowledge of the genetic basis of obesity.
Print ISSN:
0964-6906
Electronic ISSN:
1460-2083
Topics:
Biology
,
Medicine