Association between Fat Mass- and Obesity- Associated (FTO) Gene Polymorphism and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract

AimsMany studies have investigated the relationship between FTO gene polymorphism and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) susceptibility but revealed mixed results. In this study, we aimed to perform a meta-analysis to clarify this association.MethodsPublished literature from PubMed, Embase and CNKI was retrieved. Meta-analysis was performed to calculate pooled odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) using the random- or fix- effects model.ResultsA total of 5 studies (4778 cases and 4272 controls) were included in our meta-analysis. The results suggested that FTO rs9939609 polymorphism (or its proxy) was marginally associated with PCOS risk after adjustment for body mass index (BMI) (OR = 1.26; 95%CI: 1.02–1.55). However, the marginal association was not stable after sensitivity analysis. In the subgroup analysis by ethnicity, the association was significant in East Asians (OR = 1.43, 95%CI = 1.30–1.59) but not in Caucasians (OR = 1.04, 95%CI = 0.85–1.29).ConclusionsOur present meta-analysis indicated that FTO rs9939609 polymorphism (or its proxy) might not be associated with risk of PCOS in overall population. However, in East Asians, there might be a direct association between FTO variant and PCOS risk, which is independent of BMI (adiposity).

Interaction between common variants of FTO and MC4R is associated with risk of PCOS

“…However, the underlying association of FTO polymorphisms with PCOS risk remains unclear. One recent meta-analysis suggested that the effect of the FTO polymorphism rs9939609 may not be associated with the risk of PCOS in the overall population [ 35 ], and we also concluded that there is a direct association between the FTO variant and PCOS risk that is independent of BMI (adiposity) in East Asians [ 25 , 22 ]. In Asian populations, the MAF of rs9939609 is not as high as in Caucasian populations (43–49 %); in our study, the MAF was 12.6 % [ 22 ].…”

FTO gene variants are not associated with polycystic ovary syndrome in women from Southern Brazil

“…Other studies found no association with PCOS and the FTO gene, but have found an association between PCOS and metabolic traits such as BMI, body weight, and fat mass (Attaoua et al, 2008;Tan et al, 2010;Wehr et al, 2010;Kim et al, 2014). These results are corroborated by a recent meta-analysis, which demonstrated that the rs9939609 polymorphism (or its proxy) was not related to PCOS susceptibility after adjustment for BMI (Cai et al, 2014). This metaanalysis suggested there might be a direct association between FTO Data are expressed as mean ± SD or median (interquartile range) (Student t test).…”

“…BMI, body mass index; FAI, free androgen index; BP, blood pressure. variants and PCOS risk specifically in an East Asian population, since the association was significant after adjusting for BMI (Cai et al, 2014). No studies are available concerning polymorphisms in the FTO gene and PCOS in Latin American populations.…”

“…On subgroup analysis, the association was significant in East Asians but not in Caucasians, suggesting an effect of ethnicity on the association. Further studies are required to assess the real impact of polymorphisms in the FTO gene on PCOS in other populations (Cai et al, 2014).…”

Association between vascular endothelial growth factor gene polymorphisms and PCOS risk: a meta-analysis

“…To date, several studies have been carried out to examine the role and association of genetic SNP in the pathogenesis of PCOS. The Yes-associated protein (YAP1) (Li et al, 2012), the fat mass and obesity associated (FTO) (Cai et al, 2014), the adiponectin (ADIPOQ) (Liu et al, 2018) and the vitamin D receptor (Niu et al, 2018) have been reported to be associated with a risk of PCOS. It has been shown that the increased levels of VEGF in serum and follicular fluid in women with PCOS may account for the increase in the numbers of granulosa lutein cells and the secretory capacity of granulosa cells (Agrawal et al, 1998;Watson et al, 2000).…”