Ancestral Effect on HOMA-IR Levels Quantitated in an American Population of Mexican Origin
- Hui-Qi Qu, PHD1⇓,
- Quan Li, PHD2,
- Yang Lu, MSC1,
- Craig L. Hanis, PHD3,
- Susan P. Fisher-Hoch, MD1 and
- Joseph B. McCormick, MD1⇓
- 1The University of Texas School of Public Health, Brownsville Regional Campus, Brownsville, Texas
- 2Endocrine Genetics Laboratory, Montreal Children's Hospital, McGill University Health Center, Montréal, Québec, Canada
- 3Human Genetics Center, School of Public Health, The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, Texas
- Corresponding author: Hui-Qi Qu, huiqi.qu{at}uth.tmc.edu, or Joseph B. McCormick, joseph.b.mccormick{at}uth.tmc.edu.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE An elevated insulin resistance index (homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance [HOMA-IR]) is more commonly seen in the Mexican American population than in European populations. We report quantitative ancestral effects within a Mexican American population, and we correlate ancestral components with HOMA-IR.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We performed ancestral analysis in 1,551 participants of the Cameron County Hispanic Cohort by genotyping 103 ancestry-informative markers (AIMs). These AIMs allow determination of the percentage (0–100%) ancestry from three major continental populations, i.e., European, African, and Amerindian.
RESULTS We observed that predominantly Amerindian ancestral components were associated with increased HOMA-IR (β = 0.124, P = 1.64 × 10−7). The correlation was more significant in males (Amerindian β = 0.165, P = 5.08 × 10−7) than in females (Amerindian β = 0.079, P = 0.019).
CONCLUSIONS This unique study design demonstrates how genomic markers for quantitative ancestral information can be used in admixed populations to predict phenotypic traits such as insulin resistance.
- Received April 3, 2012.
- Accepted June 12, 2012.
- © 2012 by the American Diabetes Association.
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