Vitamin D Receptor Gene Haplotype and Late-Onset Obesity in Iranian Azeri Turkish Women

A large body of literature has revealed the association between vitamin D3-VDR complex
and obesity. The aim of the present study was to survey the rate of the VDR polymorphisms in obese women
and to determine whether there may be an association between VDR BsmI and Tru9I haplotypes and obesity
in Iranian Azeri Turkish women.
Material and methods: 65 Iranian Azeri Turkish women were enrolled in the study and PCR
amplification and direct sequencing of PCR products were used for genotypings.
Results: The findings of this study showed that VDR BsmIG allele, VDR BsmI G/G genotype, VDR
BsmI A/A genotype, Tru9IA allele and Tru9I A/A genotype were more frequent in obese women compared
to controls. The frequency of VDR BsmIG/Tru9IA (GA), VDR BsmIG/Tru9IG (GG), VDR BsmIA/Tru9IG
(AG), and VDR BsmIA/Tru9IA (AA) haplotypes were 19.74%, 42.11%, 38.16% and 0% in cases, and
11.11%, 40.74%, 42.59 and 5.56% in controls. Statistically significant differences were found between
cases and controls regarding the VDR AA haplotype (P=0.03).
Conclusions: Our findings demonstrated that the VDR AA haplotype frequency was significantly lower
in subjects with obesity compared with normal controls. This study shows that the VDR AA haplotype is
significantly associated with a decreased risk of obesity in the tested group. This report is the first of its kind
in the West Azerbaijani population.