Abstract
Aim. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of two candidate gene polymorphisms for insulin resistance and lipid levels in obese children and adolescents. Methods. Two markers of insulin resistance and lipid levels, Pro12Ala in peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ2 (PPARG) and G276T in adiponectin (ADIPOQ), were genotyped in 285 obese children and adolescents. As the apolipoprotein E (APOE) polymorphisms C112R and R158C are known to have a profound impact on lipid levels in both children and adults, results were adjusted for APOE genotype. Results. We found no association for PPARG or ADIPOQ polymorphisms with Body Mass Index (BMI), High Density Lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol, triglycerides or Insulin Resistance estimated by Homeostasis Model of Assessment (HOMA-IR). Wild type carriers of PPARG Pro12Ala (p<0.05), homozygous carriers of the variant allele of ADIPOQ G276T (p<0.001) and ε4 carriers of APOE (p<0.001) had higher total and low density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol levels adjusted for age, gender, BMI and insulin sensitivity. A PPARG/ADIPOQ risk genotype combination was identified by analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) comparing all existing combinations. Carriers of PPARG Pro/Pro and ADIPOQ 276 T/T had higher total (5.0 [4.1–5.8] vs. 4.1 [3.6–4.6] mmol/l) and LDL-cholesterol levels (3.7 [2.9–4.5] vs. 3.0 [2.5–3.5] mmol/l) compared with carriers of other combinations (p<0.001). Importantly, the PPARG and ADIPOQ associations were unaffected when adjusting for APOE genotype. Conclusions. Genetic variants in candidate genes for insulin resistance are associated with cholesterol levels in obese children and adolescents, and may offer additional information in the risk assessment of obese children.