BMC medical geneticsSep 17, 2017

FTO Gene Variant Linked to Metabolic Syndrome Risk in Egyptian Women

Circadian Biology Weekly Brief ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗

Updated Mar 29, 2026

Abstract

The genotype distribution of FTO rs9939609 was significantly associated with metabolic syndrome (MetS) in a study of 197 Arab females from Egypt.

A significant association was found between the FTO rs9939609 genotype distribution and MetS risk, with a Chi-square value of 8.6 (P = 0.014).
Under a dominant model, the odds ratio for MetS was 1.97 (P = 0.029), while under a recessive model, it was 2.95 (P = 0.017).
Individuals with the (AA) genotype exhibited significantly lower levels of HDL cholesterol compared to those with the (TT) genotype (P = 0.009).
Subjects with the (AA) genotype also had significantly higher levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (P = 0.02), though this was not significant after conservative Bonferroni adjustment.
This research indicates that FTO gene rs9939609 may be a genetic risk factor for metabolic syndrome in the Egyptian population.

Simplified

BACKGROUND: Variations within fat mass and obesity associated (FTO) gene had crosstalk with obesity risk in European and some Asian populations. This study was designed to investigate FTO rs9939609 association with metabolic syndrome (MetS) as well as biochemical parameters as plasma glucose, serum triacylglycerol (TAG), total cholesterol (TC) and transaminases enzymes in Arab female population from Egypt.

METHODS: In order to achieve that, FTO gene rs9939609 (A < T) was genotyped using TaqMan SNP Genotyping Assay in a total of 197 females which were enrolled in this study. Fasting levels of serum insulin, lipid profile and plasma glucose, in addition to liver transaminases were measured. The association between the genotype distribution and MetS risk was evaluated using Chi-square and logistic regression tests in a case-control design under different genetic models.

RESULTS: The association of genotype distribution with MetS was significant (χ2 = 8.6/P = 0.014) with an increased odds ratio under dominant model (OR = 1.97, P = 0.029 and 95%C.I = 1.07-3.6) and recessive model (OR = 2.95, P = 0.017 and 95%C.I = 1.22-7.22). Moreover, (AA) subjects showed significant lower HDL-C levels (P = 0.009) when compared to (TT) ones. In addition, interestingly subjects with (AA) genotype have significantly higher ALT levels (P = 0.02) that remained significant after correction of major confounders as body mass index and serum triacylglycerols but not after conservative Bonferroni adjustment.

CONCLUSIONS: The present study shows for first time that FTO gene rs9939609 is genetic risk factor for metabolic syndrome in Egyptian population which may help in understanding the biology of this complex syndrome and highlighted that this association may be through HDL-C component. The association of this genetic polymorphism with ALT levels needs to be studied in other populations with larger sample size.

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FTO Gene Variant Linked to Metabolic Syndrome Risk in Egyptian Women

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