Association of Adenosine Deaminase (ADA) +22 G->A (rs73598374) Genotype in Latino Adult Obese

Obesity is a health burden that currently affects over 13% of the global adult population, consisting of over 650 million adults. Obesity is evaluated based on a body mass index (BMI) scale, which is calculated as weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters. Adults with a BMI greater than 30kg/m 2 are considered to be obese while adults with a BMI greater than 40kg/m 2 are considered morbidly obese. Adenosine deaminase (ADA) is a polymorphic enzyme that plays an important role in both immune functions and the regulation of intracellular and extracellular concentrations of adenosine. Three alleles of the ADA gene ( ADA 1 , ADA 2 , ADA 6 ) are associated with type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM1). ADA 2 / 6 may increase susceptibility to DM1 in females. Given the evidence linking obesity with DM1, we wanted to determine whether a correlation exists between ADA 2 allele and obesity. The ADA 2 (+22 G->A, rs73598374) SNP changes the amino acid at position 8 from aspartic acid (Asp8)(D) to asparagine (Asn)(N). In this study, we present significant evidence of association between the ADA 2 allele and obesity or BMIs greater than 25 in the Latino adult but not in the Caucasian population and therefore, may be a risk for obesity and its complications such as DM1.