Genomic correlation, shared loci, and causal relationship between obesity and polycystic ovary syndrome: a large-scale genome-wide cross-trait analysis

BMC Medicine

Peter Kraft¹  Qianwen Liu²  Xia Jiang²  Zhaozhong Zhu³  Elisabet Stener-Victorin⁴  Qiaolin Deng⁴ 

[1] Department of Biostatistics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA;Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA;Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Center for Molecular Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Solna, Stockholm, Sweden;Department of Emergency Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA;Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden;

关键词: Polycystic ovary syndrome;    Obesity;    Body mass index;    Fat distribution;    Genome-wide cross-trait analysis;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12916-022-02238-y

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThe comorbidity between polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and obesity has long been observed in clinical settings, but their shared genetic basis remains unclear.MethodsLeveraging summary statistics of large-scale GWAS(s) conducted in European-ancestry populations on body mass index (adult BMI, Nfemale=434,794; childhood BMI, N=39,620), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR, Nfemale=381,152), WHR adjusted for BMI (WHRadjBMI, Nfemale=379,501), and PCOS (Ncase=10,074, Ncontrol=103,164), we performed a large-scale genome-wide cross-trait analysis to quantify overall and local genetic correlation, to identify shared loci, and to infer causal relationship.ResultsWe found positive genetic correlations between PCOS and adult BMI (rg=0.47, P=2.19×10−16), childhood BMI (rg=0.31, P=6.72×10−5), and WHR (rg=0.32, P=1.34×10−10), all withstanding Bonferroni correction. A suggestive significant genetic correlation was found between PCOS and WHRadjBMI (rg=0.09, P=0.04). Partitioning the whole genome into 1703 nearly independent regions, we observed a significant local genetic correlation for adult BMI and PCOS at chromosome 18: 57630483–59020751. We identified 16 shared loci underlying PCOS and obesity-related traits via cross-trait meta-analysis including 9 loci shared between BMI and PCOS (adult BMI and PCOS: 5 loci; childhood BMI and PCOS: 4 loci), 6 loci shared between WHR and PCOS, and 5 loci shared between WHRadjBMI and PCOS. Mendelian randomization (MR) supported the causal roles of both adult BMI (OR=2.92, 95% CI=2.33–3.67) and childhood BMI (OR=2.76, 95% CI=2.09–3.66) in PCOS, but not WHR (OR=1.19, 95% CI=0.93–1.52) or WHRadjBMI (OR=1.03, 95% CI=0.87–1.22). Genetic predisposition to PCOS did not seem to influence the risk of obesity-related traits.ConclusionsOur cross-trait analysis suggests a shared genetic basis underlying obesity and PCOS and provides novel insights into the biological mechanisms underlying these complex traits. Our work informs public health intervention by confirming the important role of weight management in PCOS prevention.

【 授权许可】

CC BY