Background

Obesity represents a critical factor contributing to morbidity and mortality worldwide. The complex nature of obesity requires a comprehensive understanding of the genetic mechanisms underlying its etiology to achieve a more effective interventional strategy. We therefore aim to assess the relationship between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in relationship to obesity risk and weight loss.

Methods

A cohort of overweight/obese subjects (n=113) were collected and followed up after elipse intervention for four months. We genotyped these subjects using TaqMan allelic discrimination by Real-Time PCR for five SNPs (FTO rs1558902, MC4R rs6567160, TMEM18 rs13021737, SEC16B rs543874 and GNPDA2 rs10938397). Using linear and logistic regression, we assessed the relationship between the selected SNPs with both obesity and weight loss under an additive, recessive, and dominant genetic model.

Results

We found an association between the FTO variant rs1558902 with increased BMI ꞵ =2.15 (95% 0.17 – 4.14); p= 0.035. Similarly, we observed an association between the MC4R rs6567160 and increased BMI ꞵ =1.78 (95% CI 0.42 – 3.14); p = 0.011. In addition, we also observed an association between TMEM18 rs13021737 with BMI point lost ꞵ =1.1 (95% CI 0.06 – 2.14); p = 0.042

Conclusions

Although our findings require further validation, our results are consistent with previous studies showing the FTO and MC4R variants to be associated with obesity risk. Moreover, the association between TMEM18 and weigh loss after gastric balloon intervention is novel.