Familial risk ratios for extreme obesity: implications for mapping human obesity genes.
OBJECTIVE
To determine familial risk ratios for extreme obesity to aid in the design of obesity linkage studies.


METHODS
Family study of obesity.


METHODS
2349 first-degree relatives (parents and siblings) of 840 probands who are members of the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA) and 5851 participants of the first phase of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III.


METHODS
Computed age-gender standardized risk ratios (SRRs) for obesity in relatives categorized by the level of obesity in the index case (proband).


METHODS
Body mass index (BMI) (kg/m2).


RESULTS
The risk of extreme obesity (BMI > or = 40) in relatives of extremely obese women (BMI > or = 40) was more than five times greater than in the population; furthermore, the risk of obesity in relatives was approximately linearly associated with the degree of obesity in the proband. The risk of thinness in relatives of obese individuals was substantially lower than in the general population.


CONCLUSIONS
Because the familial risk ratio for extreme obesity is higher than for moderate levels of obesity, the number of families required to achieve adequate statistical power in gene mapping studies of obesity can be reduced substantially by focusing on family members of extremely obese individuals (BMI > or = 40).
Lee
J H
JH
Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia 19104, USA.
Reed
D R
DR
Price
R A
RA
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009767:Obesity, Morbid / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics*; D016017:Odds Ratio; D015995:Prevalence; D012306:Risk; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires