title: Association of LIN28B with adult adiposity-related traits in females.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Pubertal timing is under strong genetic control and its early onset associates with several adverse health outcomes in adulthood, including obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Recent data indicate strong association between pubertal timing and genetic variants near LIN28B, but it is currently unknown whether the gene contributes to the association between puberty and adult disease.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To elucidate the putative genetic link between early puberty and adult disease risk, we examined the association of two genetic variants near LIN28B with adult body size and metabolic profiles in randomly ascertained adult Finnish males and females.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), rs7759938, the lead SNP previously associated with pubertal timing and height, and rs314279, previously also associated with menarcheal age but only partially correlated with rs7759938 (r(2) = 0.30), were genotyped in 26,636 study subjects participating in the Finnish population survey FINRISK. Marker associations with adult height, weight, body mass index (BMI), hip and waist circumference, blood glucose, serum insulin and lipid/lipoprotein levels were determined by linear regression analyses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Both rs7759938 and rs314279 associated with adult height in both sexes (p = 2×10(-6) and p = 0.001). Furthermore, rs314279 associated with increased weight in females (p = 0.001). Conditioned analyses including both SNPs in the regression model verified that rs314279 independently associates with adult female weight, BMI and hip circumference (p<0.005). Neither SNP associated with glucose, lipid, or lipoprotein levels.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Genetic variants near the puberty-associated gene LIN28B associate with adult weight and body shape in females, suggesting that the gene may tag molecular pathways influencing adult adiposity-related traits.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland FIMM, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Jaakko T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Leinonen
authors.forename: Ida
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Surakka
authors.forename: Aki S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Havulinna
authors.forename: Johannes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kettunen
authors.forename: Riitta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Luoto
authors.forename: Veikko
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Salomaa
authors.forename: Elisabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Widén
mesh_terms: D050154:Adiposity / Q000235:genetics*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D049628:Body Size / Q000235:genetics; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D056726:Genetic Association Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D055442:Metabolome / Q000235:genetics; D008875:Middle Aged; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D019655:Quantitative Trait, Heritable; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; D044465:White People / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; C516326:LIN28B protein, human; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins