Association of polymorphic variants of FTO and MC4R genes with obesity in a Tatar population

Obesity is a chronic relapsing disease that leads to numerous ailments and requires lifelong treatment. Genetic predisposition is one of the mostly discussed aspects of obesity development, and genome-wide association studies have provided evidence that several variants of the FTO and MC4R genes are significantly associated with obesity. In this study the association of FTO (rs9939609, rs7202116, and rs9930506) and MC4R (rs12970134 and rs17782313) genes' SNPs with obesity in Tatar women has been analyzed. In the investigation 340 women with obesity (Body Mass Index (BMI) ≥ 30 kg/m2) and 330 women from a control group (BMI up to 24.9 kg/m2) took part. The FTO rs9939609 (p = 0.0002) and rs9930506 (p = 0.0005) SNPs were shown to be associated with obesity risk following an additive model, while the MC4R rs12970134 (p = 0.0076) and rs1778231 (p = 0.021) SNPs were associated by a recessive model. We also showed an association of quantitative parameters (age, weight, and BMI) with two the FTO rs9939609 and rs9930506 SNPs and the association of age and the MC4R rs12970134 SNP. Our study demonstrates the role of genetic variability in FTO and MC4R genes in obesity development in Tatar women from Russia.