Gender-specific association of the rs6499640 polymorphism in the FTO gene with plasma lipid levels in Chinese children

Abstract The fat mass- and obesity-associated gene (FTO) is significantly associated with obesity, but the associations of FTO with obesity-related traits are not fully described. We aimed to investigate the association of the FTO single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs6499640 with lipid levels in Chinese children. A total of 3503 children aged 6-18 years were included in the present study. Lipid levels were analyzed and the SNP rs6499640 was genotyped using the TaqMan Allelic Discrimination Assay. Statistically significant associations were found between rs6499640 and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) (p = 0.008), total cholesterol (TC) (p = 0.005), and triglycerides (TG) (p