Introduction: the effects of obesity on health are a concern for the military as they affect the fitness to serve of active service members, increase costs to the Military Health System, and reduce quality of life for veterans and beneficiaries. Although obesity can be influenced by behavioral and environmental factors, it has also been shown to be associated with genetic risk factors that are not fully understood.
Materials and methods: we performed a genome-wide association study of 5,251 participants in the Coriell Personalized Medicine Collaborative, which includes 2,111 Air Force participants. We applied a generalized linear model, using principal component analysis to account for population structure, and analyzed single-variant associations with body mass index (BMI) as a continuous variable, using a Bonferroni-corrected P-value threshold to account for multiplicity.
Results: we identified one genome-wide significant locus, rs11670527, upstream of the ZNF264 gene on chromosome 19, associated with BMI.
Conclusions: the finding of an association between rs11670527 and BMI adds to the growing body of literature characterizing the complex genetics of obesity. These efforts may eventually inform personalized interventions aimed at achieving and maintaining healthy weight.
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