Genetic polymorphisms in neuroendocrine disorder-related candidate genes associated with pre-pregnancy obesity in gestational diabetes mellitus patients by using a stratification approach.

BACKGROUND

Certain candidate genes have been associated with obesity. The goal of this study is to determine the association between thirteen neuroendocrine disorder-related candidate genes and pre-pregnancy obesity among gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) patients using the stratification approach defined the Asian and International criteria-based body mass index (BMI).

METHODS

This was a post-hoc case-control exploratory sub-analysis of a cross-sectional study among GDM women to determine which candidate single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) related to neuroendocrine disorders may be associated with obesity. Factors were adjusted for socio-demographic characteristics and concurrent medical problems in this particular population. Pre-pregnancy BMI and concurrent medical profiles were obtained from maternal health records. Obesity is defined as BMI of ≥27.5 kg/m for Asian criteria-based BMI and >30 kg/m for International criteria-based BMI. Thirteen candidate genes were genotyped using Agena MassARRAY and examined for association with pre-pregnancy obesity using multiple logistic regression analysis. The significant difference threshold was set at P value <0.05.

RESULTS

Three hundred and twelve GDM women were included in this study; 60.9% and 44.2% of GDM patients were obese using Asian and International criteria-based BMI, respectively. GDM patients with AA or AG genotypes in specific SNP of brain-derived neurotrophic factor () (G > A in rs6265) are more likely to be obese (adjusted odd ratio =2.209, 95% CI, 1.305, 3.739, P=0.003) compared to those who carry the GG genotype in the SNP adjusted for parity, underlying with asthma, heart disease, anaemia, education background in the International criteria-based BMI stratification group. On the other hand, there were no associations between other candidate genes (, , , , , , , , , , and ) and maternal obesity.

CONCLUSIONS

In summary, rs6265 is significantly associated with pre-pregnancy obesity among GDM patients. The exact role of adjusted for diet intake and lifestyle factors merits further investigation.