The frequency of Trp64Arg polymorphism of the β3-adrenergic receptor gene in healthy and obese hungarian children and its association with cardiovascular risk factors

Objective:To estimate the frequency of Arg64 allele of the β3-adrenergic receptor (3-BAR) gene in healthy (H) and obese (O) Hungarian children, and to look for possible associations between this polymorphism and some clinical and metabolic characteristics of obese children.Patients/methods:In all, 147 healthy (male: 68) and 295 obese (male: 168) children were examined. The average age of the children in the two groups was 12.4±1.7 vs 12.6±3.2, respectively. Exon 1 of 3-BAR was amplified by polymerase chain reaction and the fragments were digested with BstN1. In obese children, oral glucose tolerance test was carried out and blood pressure (BP) was checked.Results:The frequency of Trp64Arg polymorphism in normal and obese Hungarian children was similar (H vs O: n=14/9.5% vs n=35/11.8%). Obese children carrying the Arg64 allele (n=35, male: 23) were compared to randomly chosen, obese children without the Arg64 allele (n=35, male: 20). A significant difference was found between the body weight (81.2±23.2 vs 75.6±17.7 kg; mean±s.d.; P