title: Genetic Predisposition to Central Obesity and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes: Two Independent Cohort Studies.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Abdominal obesity is a major risk factor for type 2 diabetes (T2D). We aimed to examine the association between the genetic predisposition to central obesity, assessed by the waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) genetic score, and T2D risk.
  
  
  METHODS
  The current study included 2,591 participants with T2D and 3,052 participants without T2D of European ancestry from the Nurses' Health Study (NHS) and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (HPFS). Genetic predisposition to central obesity was estimated using a genetic score based on 14 established loci for the WHR.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found that the central obesity genetic score was linearly related to higher T2D risk. Results were similar in the NHS (women) and HPFS (men). In combined results, each point of the central obesity genetic score was associated with an odds ratio (OR) of 1.04 (95% CI 1.01-1.07) for developing T2D, and the OR was 1.24 (1.03-1.45) when comparing extreme quartiles of the genetic score after multivariate adjustment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The data indicate that genetic predisposition to central obesity is associated with higher T2D risk. This association is mediated by central obesity.
authors: Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA.
authors: Tao
authors: T
authors: Huang
authors: Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY.
authors: Qibin
authors: Q
authors: Qi
authors: Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA.
authors: Yan
authors: Y
authors: Zheng
authors: Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA.
authors: Sylvia H
authors: SH
authors: Ley
authors: Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA Division of Preventive Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.
authors: JoAnn E
authors: JE
authors: Manson
authors: Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA.
authors: Frank B
authors: FB
authors: Hu
authors: Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA nhlqi@channing.harvard.edu.
authors: Lu
authors: L
authors: Qi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D055106:Genome-Wide Association Study / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D056128:Obesity, Abdominal / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics*; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D012307:Risk Factors; D049629:Waist-Hip Ratio; D044465:White People / Q000235:genetics