Genetic influences on the association between DNA methylation and obesity measures: insights from a twin study design.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Both obesity and DNA methylation (DNAm) are influenced by genetic factors. Despite more than a thousand of obesity-related DNAm sites (CpGs) being identified, studies that account for genetic influences in these associations are limited.

Results

Using data from 1,074 twins in the Chinese National Twin Registry and bivariate structural equation models (SEMs), we investigated the phenotypic (Rph), genetic (Ra), and environmental (Re) correlations between genome-wide DNAm and three obesity indices: BMI, waist circumference (WC), and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR). Genome-wide, correlations between DNAm and obesity were small (Rph = 0.04, Ra = 0.08-0.09, Re = 0.02-0.03). For CpGs with high phenotypic correlation (Rph > 0.1), the mean genetic and environmental correlations w

SUBMITTER: Hong X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12288357 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature