Early screening of FTO and MC4R variants in newborns of Greek origin.

Early screening of FTO and MC4R variants in newborns of Greek origin.
J Pediatr Endocrinol Metab. doi: 10.1515/jpem-2014-0320. December 12, 2014. View on PubMed.
Authors
Molou E, Schulpis KH, Birbilis C, Thodi G, Georgiou V, Dotsikas Y, and Loukas YL
Abstract

BACKGROUNDVariants of fat mass and obesity associated gene (FTO) and melanocortin-4 receptor gene (MC4R) are related to obesity, overweight and type 2 diabetes.OBJECTIVESTo examine the presence of FTO and MC4R variants in Greek newborns.SUBJECTS AND METHODSA total 1530 newborns of Greek origin were subjected to genetic testing for rs9939609 (FTO) and for rs17782313 (MC4R) variants using dried blood spot (DBS) analysis.RESULTSSome 20.2% of newborns carried none of the tested variants. FTO homozygotes and FTO heterozygotes correspond to 18.0% and 45.9% of neonates, respectively. MC4R homozygotes and MC4R heterozygotes were identified in 6.7% and 36.3% of neonates, respectively. Of the infants, 2.2% carried both variants in homozygosity, whereas heterozygotes for both variants correspond to 16.7% of the tested neonates.CONCLUSIONThe results indicate high prevalence of homozygosity and heterozygosity for tested variants. Early screening via DBS may be beneficial in order to adopt a healthy lifestyle.