Association of the Polymorphism with Obesity in Mexican Women with High Native American Ancestry.

The gene has been associated with obesity; this study aimed to determine the association between L- and S-alleles at the polymorphism with obesity in indigenous Mexican populations. A total of 362 individuals, 289 belonging to eight Native American (NA) groups; 40 Mexican mestizos; and 33 Caucasian Mennonites were enrolled in a cross-sectional study. High (≥90%) and low (<90%) NA ancestry was molecularly determined. A body mass index >30 kg/m was considered as obese. The L- and S-alleles of the locus were identified by PCR; the association between alleles and obesity was performed by logistic regression analysis. A significantly lower prevalence of obesity (35%) was observed in participants from communities with high NA ancestry ( < 0.005). Under a dominant heritance model the L-allele was associated with obesity in women with high NA ancestry (odds ratio [OR] 7.27; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.6-32.5;  = 0.009) but not in women with low NA ancestry (OR 0.83; 95% CI 0.3-2.2;  = 0.71); no association was observed in men. Our results suggest that the L-allele is a risk factor for developing obesity in Mexican women with high NA ancestry (≥90%).