Abstract
Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a cluster of cardio-metabolic risk factors. Genetic and environmental/behavioral factors are major predictors of MetS. We aimed to seek the association of genetic variants (FTO rs1421085, TMEM18 rs7561317, and NEGR1 rs2815752) with MetS in a sample of Pakistanis. Moreover, behavioral factors for the manifestation of MetS have also been assessed. A total of 612 subjects (MetS cases: 277; non-MetS controls: 335) were genotyped by allelic discrimination assays and their anthropometric parameters, blood pressure, and metabolic parameters were measured using standard procedures/biochemical analyses. In addition, the signs of acanthosis nigricans (AN) were examined and the tendency towards fat-dense food (TFDF) and the levels of physical activity (PA) were assessed by a questionnaire. The logistic regression analyses were used for association tests. The study revealed that among FTO rs1421085, TMEM18 rs7561317, and NEGR1 rs2815752, onlyTMEM18 rs7561317 was found to increase ~1.7 times the risk of having MetS according to the recessive model. The AN was identified as a clinical marker of MetS. Moreover, low PA and moderate-to-high TFDF were identified as the behavioral factors for increased risk of MetS. In conclusion, the rs7561317 may increase the MetS risk in Pakistanis independent of age, gender, and BMI. Moreover, the study identifies AN as a clinical marker of MetS and also emphasizes lifestyle interventions for countering the incidence of MetS.
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All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article.
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Abbreviations
- AHA:
-
American Heart Association
- AN:
-
Acanthosis nigricans
- BMI:
-
Body mass index
- CI:
-
Confidence interval
- DBP:
-
Diastolic blood pressure
- FBG:
-
Fasting blood glucose
- FTO :
-
Fat mass and obesity-associated
- GRS:
-
Genetic risk score
- GWAS :
-
Genome-wide association studies
- HDL-C:
-
High-density lipoprotein cholesterol
- HWE:
-
Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium
- IDF:
-
International Diabetes Federation
- IEC:
-
Independent Ethics Committee
- LPA:
-
Low physical activity
- MetS:
-
Metabolic syndrome
- MRS:
-
Metabolic risk score
- NCEP ATP III:
-
National Cholesterol Education Program/Adult Treatment Panel III
- NEGR1 :
-
Neuronal growth regulator 1
- NHLBI:
-
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
- OR:
-
Odds ratio
- OW/OB:
-
Overweight/obesity
- PA:
-
Physical activity
- PCR:
-
Polymerase chain reaction
- RA:
-
Risk allele
- rs:
-
Reference sequence
- SBP:
-
Systolic blood pressure
- SD:
-
Standard deviation
- TFDF:
-
Tendency towards fat dense food
- TGs:
-
Triglycerides
- TMEM18 :
-
Transmembrane protein 18
- WC:
-
Waist circumference
- WHO:
-
World Health Organization
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The authors appreciate all the study participants for their contribution to the study.
Funding
This study was funded by a research grant awarded by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan (Ref. No. 5740/Sindh/NRPU/R&D/HEC/2016) and a recurring grant awarded by the International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences. The funding agencies did not contribute to any part of the study.
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Adil Anwar Bhatti contributed to data curation, investigation, methodology, formal analysis, and in writing the original draft. Sobia Rana contributed to conceptualization, data curation, investigation, methodology, funding acquisition, supervision, and reviewing and editing the manuscript. Both authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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All procedures performed in the study involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional Independent Ethics Committee (IEC) and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. The study was approved by the Independent Ethics Committee (IEC) of the International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), University of Karachi, Pakistan.
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Bhatti, A.A., Rana, S. Association of genetic variants and behavioral factors with the risk of metabolic syndrome in Pakistanis. Biologia 77, 829–839 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11756-021-00983-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11756-021-00983-8