Association of Pro12Ala Polymorphism in the Peroxisome Proliferative-Activated Receptor γ2 Gene with Obesity and Hypertension in Korean Women

This study examined whether the Pro12Ala polymorphism of the PPARγ2 gene is associated with obesity, hypertension and cardiovascular risk profiles in Korean adult women. We studied 129 Korean women (aged 42.71±8.56 y) who were divided into 2 groups as a Pro12Pro homozygous group and a Pro12Ala heterozygous or Ala12Ala homozygous group based upon PPARγ2 genotype. Anthropometric parameters, blood pressure, abdominal fat area and blood lipid profiles were compared between the 2 groups, and the association of Ala allele frequency in PPARγ2 gene with obesity or hypertension was evaluated. Most anthropometric parameters and blood lipid profiles did not differ significantly between the genotypes. However, all variables of skinfold thickness, body circumference and abdominal fat area of Pro12Ala heterozygous were consistently higher compared to the Pro12Pro homozygous subjects without a significance differences. The hypertensive group had significantly higher (p=0.004) Ala12 allele frequency than the normotensive group whereas allele frequencies did not differ significantly between the obese group and non-obese group. Ala allele carriers had a significantly higher risk of hypertension than non-carriers in logistic regression analysis. There was no evidence that the Ala allele can be regarded as an independent risk factor for obesity. In conclusion, all variables related to obesity showed a consistently higher trend in Pro12Ala heterozygous subjects compared to Pro12Pro homozygous subjects. Pro12Ala heterozygous subjects showed an increasing trend of elevated blood pressure compared to Pro12Pro homozygous subjects. Ala12 variant as well as BMI and TG were regarded as independent risk factors for hypertension in our subjects.