Relationship of short tandem repeats flanking leptin-melanocortin pathway genes with anthropometric profile and leptinemia in Brazilian individuals

objective: to investigate the relationship of short tandem repeats (str) near genes involved in the leptin-melanocortin pathway with body mass index (bmi) and leptinemia. subjects and methods: anthropometric variables and leptinemia were measured in 100 obese and 110 nonobese individuals. d1s200, d2s1788, ds11912, and d18s858 loci were analyzed by pcr and high-resolution electrophoresis. results: overall str allele frequencies were similar between the obese and non-obese group (p > 0.05). individual alleles d1s200 (17), d11s912 (43), d18s858 (11/12) were associated with obesity (p < 0.05). individuals carrying these alleles showed higher bmi than non-carriers (p < 0.05). moreover, a relationship between d18s858 11/12 alleles and increased waist circumference was found (p = 0.040). on the other hand, leptinemia was not influenced by the studied strs (p > 0.05). conclusions: d1s200, d11s912, and d18s858 loci are associated with increased bmi and risk for obesity in this sample.