Scientists at deCODE genetics have published a study in Nature Communications that sheds light on how body mass index (BMI) influences the risk of various diseases that are comorbid with obesity. The study, which used genetic data from Iceland and the UK Biobank, looked at whether disease risks associated with BMI-related sequence variants are explained completely or partially by their effect on BMI. The results showed that for some conditions, such as fatty liver disease , glucose intolerance, and knee replacement, the genetic link to disease disappeared when BMI was taken into account.
For other conditions, like type 2 diabetes, heart failure , and stroke, the effects were largely reduced but not entirely explained by BMI. The study found similar patterns in men and women, although there were some differences, especially for myocardial infarction (heart attack), suggesting that sex may play a role in how BMI influences disease risk. The scientists also noted that other factors, such as changes in BMI over time rather than BMI measured at one point in time or other factors strongly correlated with BMI, might explain some of the remaining risk.
This research highlights the importance of BMI in the pathogenesis of diseases that are more common in obese people than others, suggesting that just reducing BMI could lower the risk of these diseases. More information: Sequence variants associated with BMI affect disease risk through BMI itself, Nature Communications (2024). DOI: 10.
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