Gene-environment interaction explains a part of missing heritability in human body mass index

Gene-environment (G×E) interaction could partially explain missing heritability in traits; however, the magnitudes of G×E interaction effects remain unclear. Here, we estimate the heritability of G×E interaction for body mass index (BMI) by subjecting genome-wide interaction study data of 331,282 participants in the UK Biobank to linkage disequilibrium score regression (LDSC) and linkage disequilibrium adjusted kinships–software for estimating SNP heritability from summary statistics (LDAK-SumHer) analyses. Among 14 obesity-related lifestyle factors, MET score, pack years of smoking, and alcohol intake frequency significantly interact with genetic factors in both analyses, accounting for the partial variance of BMI. The G×E interaction heritability (%) and standard error of these factors by LDSC and LDAK-SumHer are as follows: MET score, 0.45% (0.12) and 0.65% (0.24); pack years of smoking, 0.52% (0.13) and 0.93% (0.26); and alcohol intake frequency, 0.32% (0.10) and 0.80% (0.17), respectively. Moreover, these three factors are partially validated for their interactions with genetic factors in other obesity-related traits, including waist circumference, hip circumference, waist-to-hip ratio adjusted with BMI, and body fat percentage. Our results suggest that G×E interaction may partly explain the missing heritability in BMI, and two G×E interaction loci identified could help in understanding the genetic architecture of obesity.