Obesity, genetic ancestry and socio-economic variables in Latin American mestizos

RUDERMAN, ANAHÍ; PÉREZ, ORLANDO; ADHIKARI, KAUSTUBH; NAVARRO, PABLO; RAMALLO, VIRGINIA; GALLO, CARLA; POLETTI, GIOVANNI; BEDOYA, GABRIEL; BORTOLINI, MARIA C.; ACUÑA-ALONZO, VICTOR; CANIZALES-QUINTEROS, SAMUEL; ROTHHAMMER, FRANCISCO; RUIZ-LINARES, ANDRES; GONZÁLEZ-JOSÉ, ROLANDO

Caxias do Sul

Otro; XV Escuela Latinoamericana de Genética Médica y Humana; 2019

Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul

Objectives: This article aims to assess the contribution of genetic ancestry and socio-economic 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 socio-economic variables. Anthropometric variables such as weight, height, waist and hip circumference were measured to calculate body indices: body mass index (BMI), waist to hip ratio (WHR), and waist to height ratio (WHtR). Genetic data was extracted from blood samples, and ancestry was estimated using chip genotypes. Multiple linear regression was used to evaluate the relationship between the indices and ancestry, educational level, economic well-being. The body indices were dichotomized to obesity indices by using appropriate thresholds. Odds ratios were calculated for each obesity index.Results: The sample showed high percentages of obesity by all measurements. However, indices did not overlap consistently when classifying obesity. WHtR resulted in the highest prevalence of obesity. Overall, women with low education level and men with high economic wellness were more likely to be obese. American ancestry was statistically associated to obesity indices, although to a lesser extent than socioeconomic variables. Conclusions: The proportion of obesity was heavily dependent on the index and the population. Genetic ancestry has a significant influence in the anthropometric measurements, especially on central adiposity. As a whole, we detect a large inter-population variation that suggests that better approaches to overweight and obesity phenotypes are needed in order to obtain more precise reference values.