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Quantitative trait loci for abdominal fat and BMI in Hispanic-Americans and African-Americans: the IRAS Family Study

International Journal of Obesity volume 29, pages 67–77 (2005)Cite this article

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

To conduct linkage analysis for body mass index (BMI, kg/m2), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), visceral adipose tissue mass (VAT, cm2) and subcutaneous adipose tissue mass (SAT, cm2) using a whole genome scan.

DESIGN:

Cross-sectional family study.

STUDY SUBJECTS:

African-American families from Los Angeles (AA, n=21 extended pedigrees) and Hispanic-American families (HA) from San Antonio, TX (HA-SA, n=33 extended pedigrees) and San Luis Valley, CO (HA-SLV, n=12 extended pedigrees), totaling 1049 individuals in the Insulin Resistance and Atherosclerosis (IRAS) Family Study.

MEASUREMENTS:

VAT and SAT were measured using a computed tomography scan obtained at the fourth and fifth lumbar vertebrae. All phenotypes were adjusted for age, gender, and study center. VAT, SAT, and WHR were analyzed both unadjusted and adjusted for BMI.

RESULTS:

Significant linkage to BMI was found at D3S2387 (LOD=3.67) in African-Americans, and at D17S1290 in Hispanic-Americans (LOD=2.76). BMI-adjusted WHR was linked to 12q13–21 (D12S297 (LOD=2.67) and D12S1052 (LOD=2.60)) in Hispanic-Americans. The peak LOD score for BMI-adjusted VAT was found at D11S2006 (2.36) in Hispanic families from San Antonio. BMI-adjusted SAT was linked to D5S820 in Hispanic families (LOD=2.64). Evidence supporting linkage of WHR at D11S2006, VAT at D17S1290, and SAT at D1S1609, D3S2387, and D6S1056 was dependent on BMI, such that the LOD scores became nonsignificant after adjustment of these phenotypes for BMI.

CONCLUSIONS:

Our findings both replicate previous linkage regions and suggest novel regions in the genome that may harbor quantitative trait locis contributing to variation in measures of adiposity.

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Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge the participating families, and the dedication and work performed by the staff at the clinical sites in San Antonio, Texas, San Luis Valley, Colorado, and Los Angeles; California, laboratory staff at the University of Southern California; and the members of the Coordinating Center at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. This research was supported in part by NIH Grants HL060894 (Bowden), HL060919 (Haffner), HL06091 (Bergman), HL060944 (Wagenknecht), HL061019 (Norris), and HL061210 (Saad).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Preventive Medicine and Biometrics, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver, CO

    J M Norris

  2. Department of Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA

    C D Langefeld, S S Rich, S R Beck & L E Wagenknecht

  3. Department of Radiology, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver, CO, USA

    A L Scherzinger

  4. National Institutes of Health, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA

    E Bookman

  5. Department of Medicine, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    M F Saad

  6. Department of Medicine, University of Texas Health Sciences Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA

    S M Haffner

  7. Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    R N Bergman

  8. Department of Biochemistry and Center for Human Genomics, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA

    D W Bowden

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  1. J M Norris
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Correspondence to J M Norris.

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Norris, J., Langefeld, C., Scherzinger, A. et al. Quantitative trait loci for abdominal fat and BMI in Hispanic-Americans and African-Americans: the IRAS Family Study. Int J Obes 29, 67–77 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0802793

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