title: FTO variants are associated with obesity in the Chinese and Malay populations in Singapore.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Association between genetic variants at the FTO locus and obesity has been consistently observed in populations of European ancestry and inconsistently in non-Europeans. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of FTO variants on obesity and type 2 diabetes in Southeast Asian populations.
  
  
  METHODS
  We examined associations between nine previously reported FTO single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with obesity, type 2 diabetes, and related traits in 4,298 participants (2,919 Chinese, 785 Malays, and 594 Asian Indians) from the 1998 Singapore National Health Survey (NHS98) and 2,996 Malays from the Singapore Malay Eye Study (SiMES).
  
  
  RESULTS
  All nine SNPs exhibited strong linkage disequilibrium (r(2) = 0.6-0.99), and minor alleles were associated with obesity in the same direction as previous studies with effect sizes ranging from 0.42 to 0.68 kg/m(2) (P < 0.0001) in NHS98 Chinese, 0.65 to 0.91 kg/m(2) (P < 0.02) in NHS98 Malays, and 0.52 to 0.64 kg/m(2) (P < 0.0001) in SiMES Malays after adjustment for age, sex, smoking, alcohol consumption, and exercise. The variants were also associated with type 2 diabetes, though not after adjustment for BMI (with the exception of the SiMES Malays: odds ratio 1.17-1.22; P </= 0.026).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  FTO variants common among European populations are associated with obesity in ethnic Chinese and Malays in Singapore. Our data do not support the hypothesis that differences in allele frequency or genetic architecture underlie the lack of association observed in some populations of Asian ancestry. Examination of gene-environment interactions involving variants at this locus may provide further insights into the role of FTO in the pathogenesis of human obesity and diabetes.
authors.affiliation: Center for Molecular Epidemiology, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: Jonathan T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: Rajkumar
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dorajoo
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Seielstad
authors.forename: Xue Ling
authors.initials: XL
authors.lastname: Sim
authors.forename: Rick Twee-Hee
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Ong
authors.forename: Kee Seng
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Chia
authors.forename: Tien Yin
authors.initials: TY
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: Seang Mei
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Saw
authors.forename: Suok Kai
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Chew
authors.forename: Tin
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Aung
authors.forename: E-Shyong
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Tai
mesh_terms: D000071516:Alpha-Ketoglutarate-Dependent Dioxygenase FTO; D044466:Asian People / Q000235:genetics; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000208:ethnology / Q000235:genetics; D005787:Gene Frequency; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D015810:Linkage Disequilibrium; D009765:Obesity / Q000208:ethnology / Q000235:genetics*; D016017:Odds Ratio; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D011506:Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D012846:Singapore
chemical_list: D011506:Proteins; D000071516:Alpha-Ketoglutarate-Dependent Dioxygenase FTO; C526492:FTO protein, human