No evidence for an association between genetic polymorphisms of β2- and β3-adrenergic receptor genes with body mass index in Aymara natives from Chile

OBJECTIVE: We assessed the association between Gln27Glu and Trp64Arg genetic polymorphisms of the β2 (ADRB2) and β3 (ADRB3) adrenergic receptor genes with body mass index and other cardiovascular risk factors. METHODS: In a cross-sectional study, adult Aymara subjects (n = 152) living in the Andean regions of northern Chile were characterized with respect to their ADRB2 and ADRB3 genotypes, body mass index, plasma leptin and insulin levels, fasting glucose concentration, blood pressure, and plasma lipid profile. RESULTS: The frequency of the Glu27 allele of the ADRB2 gene was estimated to be 0.04, and the allele frequency of the Arg64 variant of the ADRB3 gene was estimated as 0.13. No associations were found between the Trp64Arg polymorphism of the ADRB3 gene and body mass index or other cardiovascular risk factors. The small number of subjects with the allele encoding Glu27 in the ADRB2 gene seriously limited the analysis of the association between genotype and phenotype with the use of this polymorphism, although no clear associations were found. CONCLUSION: We found insufficient evidence to support an association between polymorphisms Gln27Glu and Trp64Arg of the ADRB2 and ADRB3 genes, respectively, with body mass index and other cardiovascular risks in the rural Aymara population from Chile.