Association of VDR gene ApaI polymorphism with obesity in Iranian population

• Published in: Biomédica
• Main Authors: Farzad Rashidi, Maryam Ostadsharif
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English; Spanish
• Published: Instituto Nacional de Salud 2021
• Subjects: obesity/genetic; vitamin d; polymorphism; genetic; body mass index; iran; Medicine; R; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.7705/biomedica.5898; https://doaj.org/article/d303ab0043a74a21a4260fe773f1feb7

Introduction: Identifying obesity risk factors as a health problem facing communities is crucial given its complexity. The vitamin D receptor gene has been reported as a possible cause of this disease. Objective: To study the association of the VDR gene ApaI, BsmI, and TaqI polymorphisms with obesity in an Iranian population. Material and methods: We analyzed the genotypes of 348 obese (BMI≥30 kg/m2) and 320 non-obese people (BMI: 18.5-24.9 kg/m2) using PCR-RFLP. We measured FBS, TG, total cholesterol, and HDL and LDL cholesterol levels in an automatic biochemical analyzer. Results: We found significantly higher BMI, FBS, and TG levels in the obese group compared to the control. In the obese individuals, the frequency of genotype AA was 47.1% and that of the combined Aa+aa genotype, 52.9% while in the control group they were 30% and 70%, respectively (p=0.024, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.100-3.933, odds ratio (OR)=2.08). A and a alleles frequencies for the ApaI polymorphism were statistically significant in the two groups (allele A vs. a; p=0.017). No significant relationship was observed between TaqI genotypes and alleles in the control and obese subjects. Conclusion: We found that VDR ApaI (rs7975232 C/A) polymorphism appeared to be a risk factor for obesity. Especially, the A allele and the AA genotype in ApaI were associated with the obesity phenotypes.