INVESTIGATION OF THE FAT MASS AND OBESITY-ASSOCIATED (FTO) GENE IN PRESCHOOL CHILDREN

Abstract

Objective: Obesity is a complex disease defined as being overweight. Previous studies have highlighted familial, environmental, and genetic factors as effective predictors of high body mass index (BMI) and obesity in the preschool period. These studies particularly emphasized that habits acquired in the preschool years affect BMI and obesity. In this populationbased case-control study, it was aimed to reveal for the first time the relationship between fat mass and obesity-related (FTO) gene expression and BMI and obesity in preschool children aged 2-6 living in Turkey. Materials and Methods: Buccal mucosal swabs were collected from 54 preschool children from 3 kindergartens located in Istanbul, Turkey. In the study, the FTO gene expression level in a total of 54 (n=25 girls and n=29 boys) children who were obese (n=14) and non-obese (n=40) according to the International BMI index was determined by the ‘Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction’ (qPCR) technique. Result: A correlation was found between FTO gene expression and BMI and obesity in obese and non-obese children with a Mann-Whitney U test (p=0.005). Conclusion: Additional research is needed to better understand the function and prevalence of the FTO gene mutations by performing sequencing analysis of the gene simultaneously in preschool children in Turkey.

Keywords

• FTO gene
• obesity
• overweight
• preschool children
• BMI

YAĞ KİTLESİ VE OBEZİTE İLİŞKİLİ (FTO) GENİN OKUL ÖNCESİ ÇOCUKLARDA ARAŞTIRILMASI

Abstract

Amaç: Obezite fazla kilolu olma olarak tanımlanan çok faktörlü bir hastalıktır. Önceki çalışmalar ailesel, çevresel ve genetik faktörlerin okul öncesi dönemde vücut kitle indeksi (VKİ) ve obezitenin etkili belirleyicileri olarak bulunmuştur. Özellikle okul öncesi yıllarda kazanılan alışkanlıkların VKİ ve obezite üzerinde etkisi olduğu vurgulanmıştır. Bu nüfusa dayalı vaka kontrol çalışmasında, Türkiye’de yaşayan yaşları 2-6 arasında değişen okul öncesi çocuklarda yağ kütlesi ve obezite ile ilişkili (FTO) gen ekspresyonu ile VKİ ve obezite arasındaki ilişkinin ilk defa açığa çıkarılması amaçlanmıştır. Gereç ve Yöntem: İstanbul, Türkiye’de yaşayan 3 adet anaokuluna kayıtlı, yaşları 2-6 arasında olan toplam 54 okul öncesi çocuktan bukkal mukoza sürüntüleri toplandı. Çalışmada, uluslararası VKİ indeksine göre obez olan (n=14), obez olmayan (n=40) toplam 54 (n=25 kız ve n=29 erkek) çocukta FTO gen ekspresyon düzeyi ’Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction’ (qPCR) tekniği kullanılarak incelendi. Bulgular: Obez olan ve olmayan çocukların FTO gen ekspresyonu ve obezite arasında anlamlı ilişki 2−ΔΔCT formülü ile Mann-Whitney U testi kullanılarak bulundu (p=0.005). Sonuç: Okul öncesi çağında olan çocuklarda FTO geninin işlevini daha iyi anlamak için daha fazla bireyle gen dizileme analizi araştırmalarına ihtiyaç olduğu düşünülmektedir.

Keywords

• FTO geni
• obezite
• fazla kilo
• okul öncesi
• VKİ

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