Background: The increasing prevalence of obesity in children has raised the incidence of Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) in this age group. Given the short- and long-term health impact of MetS, it is essential to prevent its onset by detecting its main triggers. Besides, genetic factors play an essential role in influencing which individuals within a population are most likely to develop obesity in response to a particular environment. In this regard, a common variation in the FTO gene is reproducibly associated with BMI and obesity from childhood and the genetic load has been linked to several cardiovascular risk factors, highlighting the FTO single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs9939609. Therefore, this study aimed to establish the relationship between the FTO SNP rs9939609 and MetS.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out on 220 children from the Biobío region (Chile). MetS diagnosis was established through the modified Cook criteria, using prevalence ratios, COR curves, and linear regressions to determine its association with MetS and its components.
Results: The prevalence of MetS was significantly increased among carriers of the risk allele (A): TT, 20.2%; TA, 25.4%; AA, 44.7% (p = 0.006). Also, the presence of A was associated with altered MetS-related variables.
Conclusions: The FTO SNP rs9939609 was associated with a raised prevalence of MetS among A allele carriers, and was higher in the homozygous genotype (AA).
Keywords: FTO gene; children; metabolic syndrome.