Effect of the Pro12Ala polymorphism of peroxisome proliferator activated receptor γ2 gene on obesity in North China

Objective To investigate whether the Pro12Ala polymorphism of peroxisome proliferator activated receptor (PPAR) γ2 gene is associated with obesity in North China.Methods Five hundred and seventy-four unrelated adults (51.57% men and 48.43% women, aged 30-69 years) were chosen from a genetic-epidemiological study on obesity and related conditions.Anthropometric determinations including: body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR); biochemical determinations including: fasting plasma glucose, total cholesterol, high and low density lipoprotein-cholesterol, triglycerides; And also systolic and diastolic blood pressure were measured. Genotyping of the PPAR γ2 Pro12Ala polymorphism was determined by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). Results The genotype and allele frequencies of the PPAR γ2 Pro12Ala polymorphism were significantly different between normal-weight and overweight plus obese groups (P=0.027 and 0.023, respectively; adjusted odds ratio 0.477, 95% confidence interval 0.254-0.895, P=0.021). However, no significant difference was identified between heterozygotes and wild-type individuals for any of the obesity-related quantitative traits. Only the Ala allele was associated with slightly lower BMI in the control group when stratified by BMI (P=0.09); stratification by sex showed that men carrying the Ala allele had slightly lower WHR than non-mutated men (P=0.08).Conclusion The results suggest that the Pro12Ala polymorphism of PPARγ2 gene may be associated with obesity in North China.