Lack of association between FTO gene variations and metabolic healthy obese (MHO) phenotype: Tehran Cardio-metabolic Genetic Study (TCGS)

Background Obesity is currently an international epidemic and metabolic derangements pose these individuals at greater risk for future morbidity and mortality. Genetics and environmental factors have undeniable effects and among genetic risk factors, FTO/CETP genes are important. The current study examines the interaction between obesity phenotypes and FTO/CETP SNPs and their effects on lipid profile changes. Materials and methods We selected 954 adult subjects from TCGS (47.9% male). Participants were stratified according to their BMI and presence of metabolic syndrome according to the Joint Interim Statement (JIS) definition. Nine selected polymorphisms from FTO/CETP genes were genotyped using Tetra ARMS-PCR method. After age and sex adjustment the interaction of 9 markers with lipid profiles among phenotypes were tested by PASW. Results In three main groups, HDL_C level had a strong significant association with CETP markers: (rs3764261, β (95% CI) − 0.48(− 0.61 to − 0.35), P = 1.0 × 10 −11 ), (rs1800775, β (95% CI) 0.5(0.36;0.65), P = 1.0 × 10 −6 ) and (rs1864163, β (95% CI) 0.3(0.16;0.43), P = 9.1 × 10 −5 ). This association was also seen in rs7202116 within the total population. In only unhealthy metabolic obese (MUHO) subgroups four new FTO markers (rs1421085, rs1121980, rs1558902 and rs8050136) ( P value