Obesity, genomic ancestry, and socioeconomic variables in Latin American mestizos

RUDERMAN, ANAHÍ; PÉREZ, LUIS ORLANDO; ADHIKARI, KAUSTUBH; NAVARRO, PABLO; GALLO, CARLA; POLETTI, GIOVANNI; BEDOYA, GABRIEL; BORTOLINI, MARÍA CÁTIRA; ACUÑA-ALONZO, VICTOR; CAÑIZALES-QUINTEROS, SAMUEL ; ROTHHAMMER, FRANCISCO; RUIZ-LINARES, ANDRES ; GONZÁLEZ-JOSÉ, ROLANDO

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF HUMAN BIOLOGY

WILEY-LISS, DIV JOHN WILEY & SONS INC

Lugar: New York; Año: 2019

1042-0533

Objectives: This article aims to assess the contribution of genomic ancestry andsocioeconomic status to obesity in a sample of admixed Latin Americans.Methods: The study comprised 6776 adult volunteers from Brazil, Chile, Colombia,Mexico, and Peru. Each volunteer completed a questionnaire about socioeconomicvariables. Anthropometric variables such as weight, height, waist, and hipcircumference were measured to calculate body indices: body mass index, waistto-hip ratio and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR). Genetic data were extracted fromblood samples, and ancestry was estimated using chip genotypes. Multiple linearregression was used to evaluate the relationship between the indices and ancestry,educational level, and economic well-being. The body indices were dichotomizedto obesity indices by using appropriate thresholds. Odds ratios were calculated foreach obesity index.Results: The sample showed high percentages of obesity by all measurements.However, indices did not overlap consistently when classifying obesity. WHtRresulted in the highest prevalence of obesity. Overall, women with low education level and men with high economic wellness were more likely to be obese. Americanancestry was statistically associated with obesity indices, although to a lesserextent than socioeconomic variables.Conclusions: The proportion of obesity was heavily dependent on the index andthe population. Genomic ancestry has a significant influence on the anthropometricmeasurements, especially on central adiposity. As a whole, we detected a largeinterpopulation variation that suggests that better approaches to overweight andobesity phenotypes are needed in order to obtain more precise reference values.