Common genetic variants associated with lipid profiles in a Chinese pediatric population

Genome-wide association (GWA) studies have identified many candidate genes that are associated with blood lipid and lipoprotein concentrations. In this study, we want to know whether the results from European for lipid-related single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are generalizable to Chinese children. We genotyped seven SNPs in Chinese school-age children (n = 3,503) and assessed the associations of these SNPs with lipids profiles and dyslipidemia. After false discovery rate correction, of the seven SNPs, six (rs2144300, p ~ 9.30 × 10−3; rs1260333, p ~ 6.20 × 10−11; rs1260326, p ~ 8.73 × 10−11; rs10105606, p ~ 0.010; rs1748195, p ~ 0.016 and rs964184, p ~ 2.33 × 10−13) showed strong association with triglycerides. Three SNPs (rs1260333, p ~ 3.30 × 10−3; rs1260326, p ~ 4.39 × 10−3 and rs2954029, p ~ 6.36 × 10−4) showed strong association with total cholesterol. Two SNPs (rs10105606, p ~ 6.66 × 10−4 and rs1748195, p ~ 2.55 × 10−3) showed strong association with high density lipoprotein cholesterol. Four SNPs (rs1260333, p ~ 0.017; rs1260326, p ~ 0.013; rs2954029, p ~ 1.09 × 10−3 and rs964184, p ~ 5.51 × 10−3) showed strong association with low density lipoprotein cholesterol. There were significant associations between rs1260333 (OR is 0.82, 95 % CI 0.74–0.92, p ~ 3.96 × 10−4), rs1260326 (OR is 0.82, 95 % CI 0.74–0.92, p ~ 5.31 × 10−4), and rs964184 (OR is 1.36, 95 % CI 1.20–1.55, p ~ 1.89 × 10−6) and dyslipidemia. These SNPs generated strong combined effects on lipid profiles and dyslipidemia. Our study demonstrates that SNPs associated with lipids from European GWA studies also play roles in Chinese children, which broadened the understanding of lipids metabolism.