Study: Abdominal Adiposity Associated with Increased Risk for Diabetes and Coronary Heart Disease

A genetic predisposition for a higher waist-to-hip ratio was associated with an increased risk for type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease (CHD), according to a new study.

In the study, estimates for cardiometabolic traits were based on data from 4 genome-wide association studies conducted from 2007 to 2015, which included 322,154 participants, and collected individual-level data on 111,986 participants from the UK Biobank collected from 2007 to 2011. Type 2 diabetes and CHD estimates were based on data from two separate genome-wide association studies conducted from 2007-2015, which included 148,821 participants and 184,305 participants, respectively.
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Researchers estimated cardiometabolic traits with a polygenic risk score for waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index (BMI) constructed with 48 single-nucleotide polymorphisms, and used blood lipids, blood pressure, and glycemic phenotypes as potential intermediates of type 2 diabetes and CHD. In addition, a mendelian randomization analysis was used to test the association of the polygenic risk score with cardiometablic traits, type 2 diabetes, and CHD.

Their findings showed that 1 standard deviation increase in waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI and mediated by the polygenic risk score was associated with 27-mg/dL higher triglyceride levels, 4.1-mg/dL higher 2-hour glucose levels, and 2.1–mm Hg higher systolic blood pressure.

“A 1-[standard deviation] genetic increase in WHR adjusted for BMI was also associated with a higher risk of type 2 diabetes (odds ratio, 1.77 [95% CI, 1.57-2.00]; absolute risk increase per 1000 participant-years, 6.0 [95% CI, CI, 4.4-7.8]; number of participants with type 2 diabetes outcome, 40,530) and CHD (odds ratio, 1.46 [95% CI, 1.32-1.62]; absolute risk increase per 1000 participant-years, 1.8 [95% CI, 1.3-2.4]; number of participants with CHD outcome, 66,440),” the researchers wrote.

Their study supports the idea of a causal association between abdominal adiposity and type 2 diabetes and CHD.

—Melissa Weiss

Reference:

Emdin CA, Khera AV, Natarajan P, et al. Genetic association of waist-to-hip ratio with cardiometabolic traits, type 2 diabetes, and coronary heart disease [published online February 14, 2017]. JAMA. doi:10.1001/jama.2016.21042.