Association of MC4R (rs17782313) with diabetes and cardiovascular disease in Korean men and women

BACKGROUND: Diabetes is mostly assessed by the fasting glucose level. Several studies reported that serum fasting glucose levels and cardiovascular disease are associated with MC4R. METHODS: A total of 4294 subjects participated in this study. There were 1810 subjects with cardiovascular disease among the 4294 subjects. We used multivariate linear regression models and multiple logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Individuals with the TC/CC genotype had a 1.29-fold higher risk of diabetes than did those with the TT genotype when adjusting for age, sex, and BMI (OR, 1.29; 95% CI, 1.04–1.60). For healthy subjects, the association was significant in women (OR, 1.99; 95% CI, 1.01–3.93). Men with the TC/CC genotype had a 1.21-fold higher risk of cardiovascular disease than did those with the TT genotype when adjusting for age, sex, and BMI (OR, 1.21; 95% CI, 1.04–1.41). The relationship between MC4R and cardiovascular disease was stronger in lean men (OR, 1.40; 95% CI, 1.12–1.74, p = 0.0028) than in overweight men. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that the rs17782313 SNP in MC4R is related to diabetes and the SNP is also associated with cardiovascular disease in lean men.