Association between the APOB rs1469513 polymorphism and obesity is modified by dietary fat intake in Koreans

Objective: The apolipoprotein B (. APOB) gene has been reported to be a candidate gene for individual susceptibility to dyslipidemia and obesity. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of the APOB rs1469513 polymorphism on plasma lipid profiles and obesity-related phenotypes, together with their modulation by dietary intake in Korean individuals. Methods: We analyzed the plasma lipid profiles, obesity-related phenotypes, and dietary intake of 6470 Korean aged 40 to 59 y from the KoGES (Korean Genome Epidemiology Study) database. The effects of APOB rs1469513 on traits, the interaction of APOB rs1469513 and dietary intake on traits were analyzed. Results: Plasma levels of total cholesterol (P = 0.001) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (P=0.010), body weight (P = 0.048), and body mass index (P = 0.029) were significantly different in carriers of the A allele and minor G allele of APOB rs1469513. Among individuals whose fat intake was above the median, the difference for the body mass index across genotypes is 1.14% (AA 24.66 kg/m² versus AG+GG 24.94 kg/m², P = 0.004) and carriers of the minor G allele had increased odds of being obese (Odds ratios, 1.31; 95% confidence interval, 1.09-1.57; P = 0.004) compared with homozygotes for the A allele. Conclusions: Our findings support a significant association between the APOB rs1469513 variant, plasma lipid profiles, and obesity-related phenotypes. This association has the potential to be modified by dietary fat intake. These results may offer proof that the differences between normal weight and overweight/obese individuals might partly result from different SNPs.