Biobank Lab, Department of Molecular Biophysics, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland.
BBMRI.Pl Consortium, Wroclaw, Poland.
BMC Med Genomics. 2021 Jul 6;14(1):179. doi: 10.1186/s12920-021-01025-7.
Many studies have proposed that the pathogenesis of obesity has a genetic basis, with an important risk factor being the presence of polymorphisms in the region of the TMEM18 gene, which plays a significant role in feeding behaviour; however, subsequent studies among different ethnic populations and age groups have shown inconsistent results. Therefore, this present meta-analysis examines the relationship between TMEM18 polymorphisms with the risk of obesity with regard to age group and ethnic population.
A literature database search was conducted for available relevant studies investigating the association between obesity risk and the presence of rs6548238, rs4854344, rs11127485, rs2867125 and rs7561317 polymorphisms in TMEM18. Pooled odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated by either a fixed-effects model or random effect model based on a heterogeneity test. The meta-analysis of rs6548238 and its surrogates examined the relationships between 53 395 obesity cases and 123 972 healthy controls from 27 studies and published data from the POPULOUS collection (Poland).
A significant association is observed between rs6548238 (and surrogate) and obesity risk, with OR = 1.25 (95% CI: 1.08-1.45). Regarding population type, a significant association was revealed among groups of Europeans with OR = 1.32 (1.10-1.59) and Mexicans with OR = 1.39 (1.13-1.73). However, a lack of statistical significance was noticed in groups in Asia with OR = 1.11 (95% CI: 0.86-1.42). Regarding age, a significant association was observed among children with OR = 1.28 (95% CI: 1.18-1.39) but not in adults OR = 1.21 (95% CI: 0.92-1.58).
The polymorphisms near TMEM18 appear to play a role in the development of obesity. Our findings indicate that differences exist between ethnic populations and age groups, supporting those of a previous study showing the various effects of genetic factors on age and ethnic groups.
许多研究表明肥胖症的发病机制具有遗传基础，重要的危险因素是 TMEM18 基因区域存在多态性，该基因在进食行为中起着重要作用；然而，在不同种族和年龄组的后续研究中，结果并不一致。因此，本荟萃分析研究了 TMEM18 多态性与肥胖风险之间的关系，考虑了年龄组和种族群体。
对研究 TMEM18 基因中 rs6548238、rs4854344、rs11127485、rs2867125 和 rs7561317 多态性与肥胖风险相关性的相关研究进行文献数据库检索。根据异质性检验，采用固定效应模型或随机效应模型计算合并的比值比（OR）和 95%置信区间（95%CI）。对 rs6548238 及其替代物的荟萃分析，研究了来自 27 项研究的 53395 例肥胖病例和来自 POPULOUS 集合（波兰）的 123972 例健康对照之间的关系。
rs6548238（及其替代物）与肥胖风险显著相关，OR=1.25（95%CI：1.08-1.45）。关于人群类型，在欧洲人群中发现了显著的关联，OR=1.32（1.10-1.59），在墨西哥人群中发现了 OR=1.39（1.13-1.73）。然而，在亚洲人群中没有统计学意义，OR=1.11（95%CI：0.86-1.42）。关于年龄，在儿童中发现了显著的关联，OR=1.28（95%CI：1.18-1.39），而在成年人中没有发现 OR=1.21（95%CI：0.92-1.58）。
TMEM18 附近的多态性似乎在肥胖的发生发展中起作用。我们的研究结果表明，种族群体和年龄组之间存在差异，这支持了之前的一项研究，该研究表明遗传因素对年龄和种族群体的各种影响。
