The relationship between fat mass and obesity-associated gene polymorphism and obesity among children in China: A systematic review and meta-analysis

The fat mass and obesity-associated (FTO) gene has been shown to be associated with obesity in different populations. However, this association in the Chinese population has been controversial. We evaluated the association of the FTO rs9939609 gene polymorphism with the risk of overweight and obesity in Chinese children and adolescents in a systematic review and meta-analysis. We searched PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and two electronic Chinese databases (CBM, CNKI). Two authors screened abstracts, full-texts, and extracted data according to the prespecified inclusion criteria. A modified STREGA score was used for quality assessment. A random-effects and fixed-effects model was used to conduct the measure the association between FTO gene and obesity. Ten studies including 12,879 participants were included. The FTO rs9939609 gene polymorphism was associated with a statistically significant increased risk of obesity or overweight in Han Chinese children and adolescents (P < 0.05), but absent in the Zhuang and Hazakh Chinese population (P > 0.05). The pooled OR for the codominant genetic model between AA and TT was 1.79 (95% confidence interval: 1.34–2.39, P < 0.0001). Allele A carriers were at greater risk of obesity and overweight compared to noncarriers. Screening for FTO rs9939609 gene polymorphism might help to identify adolescents at risk of developing obesity and consider appropriate prevention strategies.