Gene Lifestyle Interactions With Relation to Obesity, Cardiometabolic, and Cardiovascular Traits Among South Asians

Conclusions Evidence shows that complex traits including obesity, cardiometabolic and CVD result from interaction between multiple genetic and environmental factors. During the last decade, the GWAS has led to identification of a number of genetic variants that associate with obesity, cardiometabolic and CVD traits, however, these genetic variants only explain a small phenotypic variation in these traits. Identifying genetic variants that predispose to cardiometabolic traits in combination with specific lifestyle exposures might be important for understanding the disease etiology and subsequently providing better prevention and treatment strategies. The identification of gene lifestyle interactions may also help in disentangling the pathways involved in these complex diseases and will be beneficial for future drug development and therapy. Currently, the study of gene lifestyle interactions in cardiometabolic traits among South Asians has been challenged by insufficient knowledge, small sample size, and lack of replication compared to other ancestries i.e., Caucasians. The next generation of studies incorporating large epidemiological cohort studies utilizing genetic information and better environment measurement technologies can improve our understanding of the complex causes of obesity, cardiometabolic, and CVD diseases. It is also important to recognize that, similar to the international collaborative efforts in the European cohorts, South Asian studies have taken the ini...
Source: Frontiers in Endocrinology - Category: Endocrinology Source Type: research