title: Replication ofEarly B-cell Factor 1 (EBF1)Gene-by-psychosocial Stress Interaction Effects on Central Adiposity in a Korean Population.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Central obesity plays a major role in the development of many chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease and cancer. Chronic stress may be involved in the pathophysiology of central obesity. Although several large-scale genome-wide association studies have reported susceptibility genes for central adiposity, the effects of interactions between genes and psychosocial stress on central adiposity have rarely been examined. A recent study focusing on Caucasians discovered the novel geneearly B-cell factor 1 (EBF1), which was associated with central obesity-related traits via interactions with stress levels. We aimed to evaluateEBF1gene-by-stress interaction effects on central adiposity traits, including visceral adipose tissue (VAT), in Korean adults.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 1467 Korean adults were included in this study. We selected 22 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in theEBF1gene and analyzed their interactions with stress on central adiposity using additive, dominant, and recessive genetic modeling.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The four SNPs that had strong linkage disequilibrium relationships (rs10061900, rs10070743, rs4704967, and rs10056564) demonstrated significant interactions with the waist-hip ratio in the dominant model (pint<0.007). In addition, two other SNPs (rs6556377 and rs13180086) were associated with VAT by interactions with stress levels, especially in the recessive genetic model (pint<0.007). As stress levels increased, the mean values of central adiposity traits according to SNP genotypes exhibited gradual but significant changes (p<0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results suggest that the common genetic variants forEBF1are associated with central adiposity through interactions with stress levels, emphasizing the importance of managing stress in the prevention of central obesity.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health and Environment, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Hyun-Jin
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-7284-3547
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health and Environment, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Jin-Young
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Min
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Kyoung-Bok
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-9576-0093
authors.initials: KB
authors.lastname: Min
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000483:Alleles; D044466:Asian People; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D050152:Intra-Abdominal Fat / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D015810:Linkage Disequilibrium; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D010641:Phenotype; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D056910:Republic of Korea; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D015534:Trans-Activators / Q000235:genetics*; D049629:Waist-Hip Ratio
chemical_list: C081976:EBF1 protein, human; D015534:Trans-Activators
keywords: Adults; Early B-cell factor 1; Gene-environment interaction; Obesity; Stress