FTO Polymorphisms are Associated with Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Fatty Liver Disease (MAFLD) Susceptibility in the Older Chinese Han Population

Background As fat and obesity play a vital role in the pathophysiology of metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), this study aims to investigate the association between the fat mass and obesity-associated gene (FTO) and MAFLD. Methods Six SNPs (rs6499640, rs1421085, rs8050136, rs3751812, rs9939609 and rs9930506) within FTO were genotyped for 741 MAFLD patients (median age, 69.98; interquartile range, 66.55-75.93) and 825 healthy people (median age, 69.94; interquartile range, 66.39-75.64). Allele and genotype frequencies, pairwise linkage disequilibrium (LD) and haplotype analysis were calculated. Results BMI, waist circumference, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, fasting plasma glucose, triglyceride, alanine transaminase, glutamyl transpeptidase and the prevalence of diabetes were found to be higher in the MAFLD individuals comparing to the control ones (P 0.8), and individuals with C-A-T-A haplotype had an elevated MAFLD risk (P =0.005). Conclusion The case-control study indicated that C variant of rs1421085, A variant of rs8050136, T variant of rs3751812 and A variant of rs9939609 are associated with elevated MAFLD risk in the older Chinese Han population.