FRIDAY, Dec. 18 (HealthDay News) -- A Dutch study has found that two alleles of the SIRT1 gene are linked to less weight gain over time and decreased risk of obesity, according to a study in the December issue of Diabetes.
M. Carola Zillikens, M.D., of the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and colleagues studied three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the SIRT1 gene and their association with body mass index (BMI) and development of obesity (BMI ≥30kg/m2) in a cohort of 6,251 elderly subjects from the Rotterdam Study. The researchers also replicated their result with cross-sectional data from 2,347 participants in the Erasmus Rucphen Family (ERF) study.
The researchers found that the minor alleles rs7895833 and rs1467568 were individually associated with lower BMI both in the Rotterdam and the ERF replication cohort, as well as in a combined analysis of both cohorts. Subjects who had the alleles were found to have a 13 to 18 percent decreased risk of obesity, and in the Rotterdam Study these alleles were also linked to lower BMI increases during 6.4 years of follow-up.
"Two common variants in SIRT1 are associated with lower BMI in two independent Dutch populations. Carriers of these variants have 13 to 18 percent decreased risk of obesity and gain less weight over time. The availability of SIRT1 stimulators makes these findings relevant in light of the growing obesity epidemic," the authors write.
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