A joint view on genetic variants for adiposity differentiates subtypes with distinct metabolic implications

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 9; no. 1; pp. 1946 - 13
• Main Authors: Winkler, Thomas W, Günther, Felix, Höllerer, Simon, Zimmermann, Martina, Loos, Ruth JF, Kutalik, Zoltán, Heid, Iris M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 16.05.2018; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 38/43; 631/208/205/2138; 631/208/480; 631/443/319/1642; Adipose tissue; Adipose Tissue - metabolism; Adiposity - genetics; Anthropometry; Body Mass Index; Body size; Consortia; Energy Metabolism - genetics; Genetic diversity; Genetic variance; Genetic Variation; Genetics; Genome-Wide Association Study - methods; Hip; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Meta-Analysis as Topic; Metabolism; multidisciplinary; Obesity - classification; Obesity - genetics; Obesity - metabolism; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Signal classification; Waist-Hip Ratio
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-04124-9
• ISSN: 2041-1723

The problem of the genetics of related phenotypes is often addressed by analyzing adjusted-model traits, but such traits warrant cautious interpretation. Here, we adopt a joint view of adiposity traits in ~322,154 subjects (GIANT consortium). We classify 159 signals associated with body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), or WHR adjusted for BMI (WHRadjBMI) at P  < 5 × 10 −8 , into four classes based on the direction of their effects on BMI and WHR. Our classes help differentiate adiposity genetics with respect to anthropometry, fat depots, and metabolic health. Class-specific Mendelian randomization reveals that variants associated with both WHR-decrease and BMI increase are linked to metabolically rather favorable adiposity through beneficial hip fat. Class-specific enrichment analyses implicate digestive systems as a pathway in adiposity genetics. Our results demonstrate that WHRadjBMI variants capture relevant effects of “unexpected fat distribution given the BMI” and that a joint view of the genetics underlying related phenotypes can inform on important biology. In GWAS, waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) is often adjusted for body mass index (BMI) to account for their correlation (WHRadjBMI). Here, Winkler et al. classify 159 genetic variants for BMI, WHR, or WHRadjBMI based on their effect directions for BMI and WHR to differentiate subtypes of adiposity genetics.