The Asn363Ser variant of the glucocorticoid receptor gene is not associated with obesity or weight gain in Danish men

OBJECTIVE: Testing association of the Asn363Ser variant of the glucocorticoid gene with measures of obesity and weight gain. SUBJECTS: 741 obese subjects (BMI greater than or equal to 31 kg/m(2) at Selection) and 854 random control subjects from the same population, examined at draft board examination and after on average 27.4 +/- y. A lean control group (n = 351) was further selected as the fraction from the cohort group having a BMI below 25.0 kg/m(2) at the latest examination. METHODS: Using PCR-RFLP subjects were genotyped for the Asn363Ser variant and grouped according to genotype. RESULTS: The prevalence of the Ser363 allele was 4.7% (95% Cl: 3.3-6.2%) among the obese, 4.1% (2.7-5.5%) among the random cohort subjects and 4.3% (2.1-6.5%) among lean control subjects, respectively, showing no significant differences between the groups (P > 0.1). Furthermore, no differences in BMI, waist-hip ratio or weight gain were seen within any of the groups when defined according to the glucocorticoid receptor genotype. CONCLUSION: In the examined population this marker is not a relevant predictor of obesity.