Genetic Association Analysis Of FTO Polymorphism With Osteoarthritis And Body Mass Index (BMI) In The Chinese Han Population

Obejective:Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most prevalent form of arthritis worldwide and is the major cause of pain and loss of function in elderly people. Recently, a new signal of fat mass and obesity-associated(FTO) close to genome-wide significance has been reported in a genome-wide association study (GWAS). The FTO may exert its influence on OA through obesity. FTO polymorphism (rs8044769) is a body mass index (BMI) associated SNP, our present study is to replicate the GWAS risk loci (rs8044769) for OA and also evaluate the association of FTO polymorphism (rs8044769) with OA and body mass index (BMI) in the Chinese Han population.Methods and Results:The SNP was genotyped using Taqman assay between1007OA case and922control groups, and meanwhile between higher BMI (BMI≥25) and normal groups. Allelic and genotypic frequencies were compared between OA cases and control subjects. Associations between FTO polymorphism and BMI, BMI and OA were also assessed. No significant difference was detected in genotype or allele distribution between OA case and control groups (all P>0.05). Stratification by gender, BMI, and age revealed negative association between rs8044769and OA. We found the SNP genotype was associated with higher BMI in60s but not other age group. Meanwhile, we demonstrated that a higher BMI (BMI≥25) was associated with OA.Conclusion:Our present study suggested that FTO polymorphism (rs8044769) was not associated with OA susceptibility but may be a risk factor for higher BMI in the earlier of the aged (60s decade) and higher BMI was a risk factor for OA in the Chinese Han population.