Genetic predisposition to obesity is associated with insulin secretion in Chinese adults: The Cardiometabolic Risk in Chinese (CRC) study

AIMS:The etiological role of obesity in determining diabetes risk among Asians may be different from that among Caucasians. The current study aimed to investigate the association between genetic predisposition to obesity and measures of insulin secretion and resistance in a large Chinese cohort. METHODS:Study samples were from a community-based health examination survey in central China. A total of 2058 subjects with available biomarkers levels were included in the present study. A genetic risk score (GRS) of obesity was derived on the basis of thirteen Asian-specific body mass index (BMI)-associated variants. RESULTS:High obesity GRS was significantly associated with increased homeostasis model assessment (HOMA)-B score (β=7.309; P=0.001) but not related to measures of insulin resistance. Adjustment for age, sex, BMI, and levels of lipids did not appreciably change the results. In addition, we found significant interactions between the obesity GRS and measures of body fat distribution including waist circumference (WC; P for interaction=0.004) and neck circumference (NC; P for interaction=0.014) on HOMA-B score. CONCLUSIONS:Our results suggest that genetic predisposition to obesity may affect beta cell function in Chinese; and body fat distribution may modify the genetic effects.