Overview of analytical framework. Credit score: Genome Drugs (2025). DOI: 10.1186/s13073-025-01522-9
People with a genetic profile that places them liable to weight problems could not essentially be liable to having excessive ldl cholesterol, UTHealth Houston researchers found.
The examine, printed in Genome Drugs, discovered that some genes may end up in an inverse relationship between physique mass index (BMI) and lipids. Lipids are the totally different sorts of fats discovered within the blood that have an effect on an individual’s well being. Some lipid profiles can put a person at a better threat of coronary heart assault and stroke.
“People that have obesity tend to have a much greater risk of having cardiometabolic conditions, including high cholesterol, high blood pressure, or diabetes. But that’s not always the case,” mentioned principal investigator Kari North, Ph.D., director of the Border Well being Analysis Middle and professor at UTHealth Houston Faculty of Public Well being.
Cardiometabolic illness refers to a bunch of well being issues, like coronary heart illness and diabetes, which might be typically influenced by elements like extra physique fats.
Whereas the genes that affect weight problems usually affect an individual’s threat of excessive ldl cholesterol in the identical means, generally, sufferers who’ve weight problems will not have excessive ldl cholesterol. Conversely, somebody with a wholesome BMI, or one decrease than 25, could not essentially have a wholesome lipids profile.
By learning the genetic profiles from the UK Biobank, a large-scale potential examine of greater than 500,000 folks residing within the U.Ok., researchers have been in a position to establish genomic areas that might contribute to that phenomenon.
“Most of the variants act in the way that we expect, increasing both body mass and cholesterol, but there are some subsets that don’t operate that way. These exceptions are very interesting, and we need to understand them better,” North mentioned.
North added that the analysis is particularly vital within the period of precision drugs, the place physicians intention to extra precisely decide a affected person’s threat of sure illnesses by analyzing their polygenic threat rating. Polygenic threat scores are calculated by evaluating an individual’s genetic profile to recognized results of genetic variants on a trait.
“Polygenic risk score models assume that the variants that we’re summarizing have an effect on just one trait,” North mentioned. “But biology is complicated, and these genes can have a cascade of effects across traits. Sometimes the effects could be counterintuitive.”
The analysis exhibits that individuals with BMIs lower than 25, for instance, ought to nonetheless be monitored for different threat elements of cardiometabolic illness. This work additionally highlights the strengths and capabilities of group science, a central focus of the brand new Border Well being Analysis Middle on the Faculty of Public Well being.
“Discovering the impact of genetic variants on chronic diseases requires not only enormous sample sizes, but also the efforts of many researchers focused on the same research question. We are fortunate to work with numerous brilliant and dedicated collaborators to improve health for everyone,” mentioned co-author Kristin Younger, Ph.D., affiliate professor of epidemiology on the Faculty of Public Well being.
Extra info:
Daeeun Kim et al, Genetic underpinnings of the heterogeneous influence of weight problems on lipid ranges and heart problems, Genome Drugs (2025). DOI: 10.1186/s13073-025-01522-9
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College of Texas Well being Science Middle at Houston
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Genetic variants can concurrently improve BMI and decrease ldl cholesterol threat (2025, October 28)
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