Genome-wide association study provides novel insight into the genetic architecture of severe obesity

Severe obesity (SevO) is a primary driver of cardiovascular diseases (CVD), cardiometabolic diseases (CMD) and several cancers, with a disproportionate impact on marginalized populations. SevO is an understudied global health disease, limiting knowledge about its mechanisms and impacts. In genome-wide association study (GWAS) meta-analyses of the tail end of the BMI distribution (≥95th percentile BMI) and two SevO phenotypes [Obesity Class III BMI ≥ 40 kg/m2 and Obesity Class IV BMI ≥ 50 kg/m2] in 159,359 individuals across eleven ancestrally diverse population-based studies followed by replication in 480,897 individuals across six ancestrally diverse studies, we identified and replicated three novel signals in known loci of BMI [TENM2, PLCL2, ZNF184], associated with SevO traits. We confirmed a large overlap in the genetic architecture of continuous BMI and severe obesity phenotypes, suggesting little genetic heterogeneity in common variants, between obesity subgroups. Systematic analyses combining functional mapping, polygenic risk scores (PRS), phenome wide association studies (PheWAS) and environmental risk factors further reinforce shared downstream comorbidities associated with continuous measures of BMI and the importance of known lifestyle factors in interaction with genetic predisposition to SevO. Our study expands the number of SevO signals, demonstrates a strong overlap in the genetic architecture of SevO and BMI and reveals a remarkable impact of SevO on the clinical phenome, affording new opportunities for clinical prevention and mechanistic insights.

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UNC Libraries
Published
2025-10-09
DOI
https://doi.org/10.17615/fw67-6238
Primary Topic
Genetic Associations and Epidemiology
Type
article
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article

Genome-wide association study provides novel insight into the genetic architecture of severe obesity

Peter W.F. Wilson, Charles Kooperberg, Mariah Meyer, Ryan W. Walker et al.
UNC Libraries
Genetic Associations and Epidemiology
article

Genome-wide association study provides novel insight into the genetic architecture of severe obesity

Peter W.F. Wilson, Charles Kooperberg, Mariah Meyer, Ryan W. Walker, Esteban J. Parra, Ruth J. F. Loos, Steven Buyske, Kendra Ferrier, Susan P. Fisher‐Hoch, Penny Gordon‐Larsen, Alyssa Scartozzi, Jennifer Elizabeth Below, Geetha Chittoor, Genevieve L. Wojcik, Gregorio V. Linchangco, Luc Djoussé, Kristin L. Young, Laura M. Raffield, Christopher Haiman, Kelly Cho, Baiyu Qi, Mariaelisa Graff, Joseph B. McCormick, Nathalie Chami, Michael Gaziano, Ulrike Peters, Navya Shilpa Josyula, Roelof A. J. Smit, Ethan M. Lange, David R. Weir, Christopher R. Bauer, Mohanraj Krishnan, Jennifer A. Smith, Anne E. Justice, Miguel Cruz, Mohammad Yaser Anwar, Lisa R. Yanek, Stephen S. Rich, Iona C. Cheng, Miryoung Lee, Dhananjay Vaidya, Michael Preuß, Lawrence F. Bielak, Jessica D. Faul, Ching‐Ti Liu, Hung‐Hsin Chen, Qin Hui, Christopher R. Gignoux, Heather M. Highland, Frida Lona‐Durazo, Rashedeh Roshani, Xiaoyu Zhang, Myriam Fornage, Shuwei Liu, Wei Zhao, Leslie A. Lange, Yujie Wang, Renée de Mutsert, Kari E North, R. Dickerson, Eimear E. Kenny, Sharon L. R. Kardia, Jesús Peralta, Yan Sun, Benjamin S Hadad, Jamie Gomez-Zamudio
article en

Abstract

Severe obesity (SevO) is a primary driver of cardiovascular diseases (CVD), cardiometabolic diseases (CMD) and several cancers, with a disproportionate impact on marginalized populations. SevO is an understudied global health disease, limiting knowledge about its mechanisms and impacts. In genome-wide association study (GWAS) meta-analyses of the tail end of the BMI distribution (≥95th percentile BMI) and two SevO phenotypes [Obesity Class III BMI ≥ 40 kg/m2 and Obesity Class IV BMI ≥ 50 kg/m2] in 159,359 individuals across eleven ancestrally diverse population-based studies followed by replication in 480,897 individuals across six ancestrally diverse studies, we identified and replicated three novel signals in known loci of BMI [TENM2, PLCL2, ZNF184], associated with SevO traits. We confirmed a large overlap in the genetic architecture of continuous BMI and severe obesity phenotypes, suggesting little genetic heterogeneity in common variants, between obesity subgroups. Systematic analyses combining functional mapping, polygenic risk scores (PRS), phenome wide association studies (PheWAS) and environmental risk factors further reinforce shared downstream comorbidities associated with continuous measures of BMI and the importance of known lifestyle factors in interaction with genetic predisposition to SevO. Our study expands the number of SevO signals, demonstrates a strong overlap in the genetic architecture of SevO and BMI and reveals a remarkable impact of SevO on the clinical phenome, affording new opportunities for clinical prevention and mechanistic insights.

UNC Libraries
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US)
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Genetic Associations and Epidemiology
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