Heritability and genetic correlations of obesity indices and cardiometabolic traits in the Northern Chinese families

ObjectiveThis study aimed to investigate the heritability of various obesity indices and their shared genetic factors with cardiometabolic traits in the Chinese nuclear family.MethodsA total of 1270 individuals from 538 nuclear families were included in this cross-sectional study. Different indices were used to quantify fat mass and distribution, including body index mass (BMI), visceral fat index (VFI), and body fat percent (BFP). Heritability and genetic correlations for all quantitative traits were estimated using variance component models. The susceptibility-threshold model was utilized to estimate the heritability for binary traits.ResultsHeritability estimates for obesity indices were highest for BMI (59%), followed by BFP (49%), and VFI (40%). Heritability estimates for continuous cardiometabolic traits varied from 24% to 50%. All obesity measures exhibited consistently significant positive genetic correlations with blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, and uric acid (rG range: 0.26-0.57). However, diverse genetic correlations between various obesity indices and lipid profiles were observed. Significant genetic correlations were limited to specific pairs: BFP and total cholesterol (rG = 0.24), BFP and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (rG = 0.25), and VFI and triglyceride (rG = 0.33).ConclusionThe genetic overlap between various obesity indices and cardiometabolic traits underscores the importance of pleiotropic genes. Further studies are warranted to investigate specific shared genetic and environmental factors between obesity and cardiometabolic diseases.