Genome-wide association study of neck circumference identifies sex-specific loci independent of generalized adiposity.

ABSTRACT:

Background/objectives

Neck circumference, an index of upper airway fat, has been suggested to be an important measure of body-fat distribution with unique associations with health outcomes such as obstructive sleep apnea and metabolic disease. This study aims to study the genetic bases of neck circumference.

Methods

We conducted a multi-ethnic genome-wide association study of neck circumference, adjusted and unadjusted for BMI, in up to 15,090 European Ancestry (EA) and African American (AA) individuals. Because sexually dimorphic associations have been observed for anthropometric traits, we conducted both sex-combined and sex-specific analysis.

Results

We identified rs227724 near the Noggin (NOG) gene as a possible quantitative locus for neck circumference in men (N 

SUBMITTER: Liu Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8236408 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature