Frequency of Vitamin D Receptor Gene Polymorphisms in a Population with a very High Prevalence of Vitamin D Deficiency, Obesity, Diabetes and Hypertension.

backgroundAlthough vitamin D levels and underlying vitamin D receptor (VDR) genetic polymorphisms have been linked to many common diseases including obesity, the association remains unclear. There is also co-existence of pathologically high proportions of obesity and vitamin D deficiency conditions in our UAE society. We therefore aimed to determine the genotypes and allele percentage frequency distribution of four polymorphisms-FokI, BsmI, ApaI and TaqI-in the VDR gene in healthy Emirati individuals and their association with vitamin D levels and chronic conditions including diabetes mellitus, hypertension and obesity.

methods277 participants who were part of a randomized controlled trial had their assessment that included clinical and anthropometric data. Whole blood samples were taken for measurements of vitamin D [25(OH) D], four vitamin D receptor gene polymorphism SNPs, including BsmI, FokI, TaqI and ApaI, metabolic and inflammatory markers and related biochemical variables. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to assess the influence of vitamin D receptor gene SNPs on vitamin D status after adjusting for clinical parameters known to influence vitamin D status in the study population.

resultsOverall, 277 participants with a mean (±SD) age of 41 ± 12, 204 (74%) of them being female, were included in the study. There were statistically significant differences in vitamin D concentrations between different genotypes of the four VDR gene polymorphisms (

conclusionsAlthough we found statistically significant differences in vitamin concentrations between different genotypes of the four VDR gene polymorphisms, multivariate analysis revealed no association after adjusting for clinical parameters known to influence vitamin D status. Furthermore, no association was found between obesity and related pathologies and the four VDR gene polymorphisms.