Association of African genetic admixture with resting metabolic rate and obesity among women.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the role of genetic admixture in explaining phenotypic variation in obesity-related traits in a sample of African-American women (n = 145) and to determine significant associations between obesity traits and admixture genetic markers.


METHODS
Associations between genetic admixture and BMI, resting metabolic rate, fat mass, fat-free mass, and bone mineral density were tested using linear regression considering the estimation of admixture by 1) a maximum-likelihood approach (MLA) and 2) a Bayesian analysis.


RESULTS
Both the conservative MLA and the Bayesian approach support an association between African genetic admixture and BMI. Evidence for the associations of African genetic admixture with fat mass and fat-free mass was supported by the Bayesian analysis; the MLA supported an association with bone mineral density. When the individual ancestry informative markers that were used to estimate admixture were tested for associations with BMI, significant associations were identified in chromosomes 1, 11, and 12.


CONCLUSIONS
These results provide evidence supporting the application of admixture mapping methods to the identification of genes that result in higher levels of obesity among African-American women. Further research is needed to replicate and further explore these findings.
Fernández
José R
JR
Department of Nutrition Sciences and the Clinical Nutrition Research Center, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama 35294, USA. jose@uab.edu
Shriver
Mark D
MD
Beasley
T Mark
TM
Rafla-Demetrious
Nashwa
N
Parra
Esteban
E
Albu
Jeanine
J
Nicklas
Barbara
B
Ryan
Alice S
AS
McKeigue
Paul M
PM
Hoggart
Clive L
CL
Weinsier
Roland L
RL
Allison
David B
DB
D016632:Apolipoprotein A-I / Q000235:genetics; D001481:Basal Metabolism / Q000235:genetics*; D001499:Bayes Theorem; D044383:Black People / Q000235:genetics*; D001823:Body Composition; D015992:Body Mass Index; D015519:Bone Density / Q000235:genetics; D002153:Calorimetry, Indirect; D002878:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 1; D002880:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 11; D002881:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 12; D005260:Female; D008040:Genetic Linkage; D005819:Genetic Markers; D005838:Genotype; D020962:Heterotrimeric GTP-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D016013:Likelihood Functions; D009765:Obesity / Q000235:genetics*; D010641:Phenotype; D001741:Black or African American
D016632:Apolipoprotein A-I; C454420:G-protein beta3 subunit; D005819:Genetic Markers; D020962:Heterotrimeric GTP-Binding Proteins