FTO gene polymorphisms rs9939609 and the risk of obesity among adults in Western and Asian countries: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Background: The FTO gene polymorphisms rs9939609 have been linked to obesity. It’s essential to note that genetic variations exist between different populations. This study aims to assess the correlation between FTO gene polymorphisms rs9939609 and the risk of obesity in adult populations from both Western and Asian countries. Methods: This research employed meta-analysis, conducting a comprehensive search across articles available in ProQuest, EBSCO, and PubMed from January 2013 to January 2024. Pooled Odds Ratio (POR) with 95 % CI were computed based on the collected data. Review Manager (RevMan) 5.4.1 and Stata 16.0 were employed for data analysis. Results: In Western compared to Asian countries, the FTO rs9939609 variant was found to be significantly associated with obesity in various genetic models: dominant (POR = 1.45 vs 1.45), recessive (POR = 1.33 vs 1.51), co-dominant (first model, POR = 1.56 vs 1.70; second model, POR = 1.30 vs 1.37), and allelic (POR = 1.61 vs 1.56) models. Moreover, in Western countries, the FTO rs9939609 variant’s association with obesity was homogeneous in the recessive and first co-dominant genetic models. In Asian countries, the association between FTO rs9939609 and obesity was homogeneous in the dominant, recessive, and co-dominant genetic models (I2<50 %). Conclusion: This study has confirmed that in specific models (such as the recessive and co-dominant models), the correlation between the FTO gene variant rs9939609 and the risk of obesity more significant in Asian countries.

Keywords

• Adult
• FTO gene
• Polymorphism
• Obesity
• Asian
• Western