Salivary amylase (AMY1) is the most abundant enzyme in human saliva, responsible for the hydrolysis of α-1,4 glycosidic linkages that aids in the digestion of starch. Recently studies have shown that the copy number of AMY1 is associated with obesity; however, the data varies with location. One-third of children are overweight/obese in Alabama. In this study, we aim to determine the relationship between the copy number of AMY1 gene and obesity measurements in children from Alabama. One hundred twenty-seven children aged between 6 to 10 years participated in this study. Anthropometric measurements were measured using WHO recommendations. Genomic DNA was extracted from saliva, and the copy number of the AMY1 gene was estimated by digital PCR. The association between AMY1 copy number and obesity measurements was analyzed by linear regression. The mean AMY1 copy number significantly decreased in overweight/obese (6.21 ± 1.48) compared to normal weight (7.97 ± 2.35) children. AMY1 copy number inversely associated with the obesity measurements. African Americans had a stronger association between low AMY1 copy number and obesity compared to white/European Americans. Our findings suggest that overweight/obese children have a low AMY1 copy number and the effect is more prominent in African Americans.
Keywords: AMY1; childhood obesity; copy number variant; salivary amylase.