Gene variants associated with body shape increase risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes – Medical Xpress

February 14, 2017

A study from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers has found that a pattern of gene variants associated with an "apple-shaped" body type, in which weight is deposited around the abdomen, rather than in the hips and thighs, increases the risk for type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease, as well as the incidence of several cardiovascular risk factors. The report appears in the February 14 issue of JAMA.

"People vary in their distribution of body fat - some put fat in their belly, which we call abdominal adiposity, and some in their hips and thighs," says Sekar Kathiresan, MD, director of the MGH Center for Genomic Medicine, associate professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and senior author of the JAMA report. "Abdominal adiposity has been correlated with cardiometabolic disease, but whether it actually has a role in causing those conditions was unknown. We tested whether genetic predisposition to abdominal adiposity was associated with the risk for type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease and found that the answer was a firm 'yes'."

While several observational studies have reported greater incidence of type 2 diabetes and heart disease among individuals with abdominal adiposity, they could not rule out the possibility that lifestyle factors - such as diet, smoking and a lack of exercise - were the actual causes of increased disease risk. It also could have been possible that individuals in the early stages of heart disease might develop abdominal adiposity because of a limited ability to exercise. The current study was designed to determine whether body type really could increase cardiometabolic risk.

To answer that question, the research team applied a genetic approach called mendelian randomization, which measures whether inherited gene variants actually cause outcomes such as the development of a disease. Using data from a previous study that identified 48 gene variants associated with waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index - an established measure for abdominal adiposity - they developed a genetic risk score. They then applied that score to data from six major genome-wide association studies and to individual data from the U.K. Biobank - a total research group of more than 400,000 individuals - to determine any association between a genetic predisposition to abdominal adiposity and cardiometabolic disease and its risk factors.

The results clearly indicated that genetic predisposition to abdominal adiposity is associated with significant increases in the incidence of type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease, along with increases in blood lipids, blood glucose and systolic blood pressure. No association was found between the genetic risk score and lifestyle factors, and testing confirmed that only the abdominal adiposity effects of the identified gene variants were associated with cardiometabolic risk.

"These results illustrate the power of using genetics as a method of determining the effects of a characteristic like abdominal adiposity on cardiometabolic outcomes," says lead author Connor Emdin, DPhil, of the MGH Center for Genomic Medicine and the Cardiology Division. "The lack of association between the body type genetic risk score and confounding factors such as diet and smoking provides strong evidence that abdominal adiposity itself contributes to causing type 2 diabetes and heart disease."

Emdin continues, "Not only do these results allow us to use body shape as a marker for increased cardiometabolic risk, they also suggest that developing drugs that modify fat distribution may help prevent these diseases. Future research also could identify individual genes that could be targeted to improve body fat distribution to reduce these risks."

Explore further: Adiposity genetic risk score tied to cardiometabolic health

More information: JAMA, DOI: 10.1001/jama.2016.21042

(HealthDay)Data from a large cohort have replicated the association between the genetic risk score of 11 favorable adiposity variants with lower risk of cardiometabolic disease, according to research published online April ...

Abdominal fat in adults has long been associated with increased risk of metabolic and cardiovascular disease. Now, a Singaporean team has studied more than 300 infants and found the amount of abdominal fat they carry varies ...

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have identified seven new areas of the genome linked to body fat distributiona finding that could offer new insights into the biologic mechanisms that influence a person's ...

It is well known that following a healthy lifestylenot smoking, avoiding excess weight and getting regular exercise - can reduce the risk of heart disease. But what about people who have inherited gene variants known to ...

New evidence supports a causal relationship between adiposity and heart failure, and between adiposity and increased liver enzymes, according to a study published this week in PLOS Medicine. The study, conducted by Inga Prokopenko, ...

(HealthDay)Adiposity has an age-specific causal effect on cardiovascular risk factors, according to research published online Feb. 23 in Diabetes.

Why do some people get Type 2 diabetes, while others who live the same lifestyle never do?

A new study by researchers at King's College London has found that patients with diabetes suffering from the early stages of kidney disease have a deficiency of the protective 'anti-ageing' hormone, Klotho.

It is now possible to reprogram cells from the liver into the precursor cells that give rise to the pancreas by altering the activity of a single gene. A team of researchers at the Max Delbrck Center for Molecular Medicine ...

Keeping blood sugar levels within a safe range is key to managing both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. In a new finding that could lead to fewer complications for diabetes patients, Yale School of Medicine researchers have found ...

Latino children who live in areas with higher levels of air pollution have a heightened risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, according to a new USC-led study.

Bladder dysfunction is a reality for about half of patients with diabetes and now scientists have evidence that an immune system receptor that's more typically activated by bacteria is a major contributor.

Please sign in to add a comment. Registration is free, and takes less than a minute. Read more

Follow this link:
Gene variants associated with body shape increase risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes - Medical Xpress