Prevalence, associated factors, and gene polymorphisms of obesity in Tibetan adults in Qinghai, China

• Published in: BMC public health Vol. 24; no. 1; pp. 305 - 11
• Main Authors: Wang, Ye, Pan, Li, He, Huijing, Li, Zhanquan, Cui, Sen, Yang, Airong, Li, Wenfang, Jia, Guoqiang, Han, Ximing, Wang, Xianghua, Shan, Guangliang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London BioMed Central 26.01.2024; BioMed Central Ltd; BMC
• Subjects: Adults; Analysis; Biostatistics; Body mass index; Body weight; Cardiovascular disease; Care and treatment; Complications and side effects; Economic aspects; Environmental factors; Environmental Health; Epidemiology; Ethnicity; Exercise; Gene polymorphism; Genetic aspects; Genetic epidemiology; Genetic factors; Genetic polymorphisms; Genotype-environment interactions; Health aspects; Health risk assessment; Lifestyles; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Minorities; Minority & ethnic groups; Obesity; Overweight; Physical activity; Physical fitness; Physiology; Polymorphism; Population; Prevalence; Public Health; Regression analysis; Sex; Smoking; Social aspects; Socioeconomic factors; Tibetan; Vaccine; China; Qinghai China; Obesity; Environmental factors; Prevalence; Genetic epidemiology; Tibetan
• ISSN: 1471-2458; 1471-2458
• DOI: 10.1186/s12889-023-17181-7

Objectives To explore the prevalence and associated factors of obesity in Tibetan adults in Qinghai, China, and to determine the association between the FTO (rs1121980 and rs17817449) and MC4R gene (rs17782313 and rs12970134) polymorphisms with obesity. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2015 in Qinghai to selected Tibetan adults aged 20 to 80 years. Prevalence of obesity (BMI ≥ 28 kg/m 2 ) and overweight (BMI 24 ~ 27.9 kg/m 2 ) were evaluated. Multivariable logistic models were used to determine the associated factors. Pair-matched subjects of obesity cases and normal-weight controls were selected for the gene polymorphism analyses. Conditional logistic models were used to assess the association between gene polymorphisms with obesity. Additive and multiplicative gene-environment interactions were tested. Results A total of 1741 Tibetan adults were enrolled. The age- and sex- standardized prevalence of obesity and overweight was 18.09% and 31.71%, respectively. Male sex, older age, heavy level of leisure-time exercise, current smoke, and heavy level of occupational physical activity were associated with both obesity and overweight. MC4R gene polymorphisms were associated with obesity in Tibetan adults. No significant gene-environment interaction was detected. Conclusion The prevalence of obesity and overweight in Tibetan adults was high. Both environmental and genetic factors contributed to the obesity prevalent.