Key result
A genome-wide association study in adult Korean men identified 10 SNPs associated with abdominal adiposity traits in the discovery phase (p < 1 × 10−5), but none reached statistical significance in the replication cohort.
Why the study?
Although previous genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have identified genetic susceptibility loci for abdominal adiposity, GWASs in Asian populations remain scarce.
Observational (n=2,417)
Yes
Effect estimate: β -0.19
p-value: p=2.42 × 10−7
This genome-wide association study identified potential genetic susceptibility loci for abdominal adiposity in Korean men, notably rs4773144 of COL4A1-COL4A2, though findings were not statistically significant in the replication cohort.
Should not yet change practice for genetic VAT risk in Korean men; leaves open unreplicated East-Asian loci including a CAD-linked COL4A1 variant.
INTRODUCTION: Although previous genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have identified genetic susceptibility loci for abdominal adiposity, GWASs on Asian samples remain scarce. Therefore, we performed a GWAS for abdominal adipose tissue depots in a Korean population. METHODS: A total of 1,937 Korean men were included in the study. Areas of abdominal fat were quantified by computed tomography. We performed a GWAS analysis under an additive model, and a replication study was conducted on 480 additional Korean adult men. RESULTS: In the discovery step, we identified a total of 10 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with adiposity indicators (p < 1 × 10-5). The top SNP, rs1028014, for visceral adipose tissue (VAT) was located in the ZMAT4 gene and remained significant after adjustment for body mass index (BMI). Three additional SNPs were also associated with VAT-adj-BMI and located within the SLC26A10, FAM155A, and COL4A1-COL4A2 genes, respectively. In addition, we identified a SNP (rs4668224) of the MYO3B gene for visceral-to-subcutaneous fat ratio. For subcutaneous adipose tissue and total adipose tissue, two (rs6585735 and rs363527) and three SNPs (rs1487892, rs9357565, and rs1985358) were found, respectively. Overall, eight SNPs were used in the replication study; however, none of the SNPs reached our level of significance for replication (p < 0.0063). Nevertheless, rs4773144 of COL4A1-COL4A2 for VAT-adj-BMI was the most interesting SNP identified in previous GWASs for coronary artery disease (based on the same risk allele "G"), along with functional effects. CONCLUSION: This study suggests for the first time that an SNP (rs4773144) of COL4A1-COL4A2 may contribute to the increase in VAT level, especially in adult Korean men.
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Kim et al. (2022) conducted an observational in Abdominal adiposity (n=2,417). Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) vs. Reference alleles was evaluated on Association of SNPs with visceral adipose tissue (VAT) area (β -0.19, p=2.42 × 10−7). A genome-wide association study in adult Korean men identified 10 SNPs associated with abdominal adiposity traits in the discovery phase (p < 1 × 10−5), but none reached statistical significance in the replication cohort.
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