Fat mass and obesity-associated gene rs9939609 polymorphism is a potential biomarker of recurrent venous thromboembolism in male but not in female patients

Multiple genetic variations have been identified in FTO (fat mass and obesity-associated) gene. Among them, FTO rs9939609 polymorphism is shown to be associated with the risk of primary venous thromboembolism (VTE). However, its role in recurrent VTE is not known. The aim of our study was to investigate the association between FTO rs9939609 polymorphism and the risk of VTE recurrence in a prospective follow-up study in both male and female patients. FTO rs9939609 polymorphism (T/A) was analyzed in the Malmö thrombophilia study (MATS, followed for ~10 years) by using TaqMan PCR. MATS patients (n = 1050) were followed from the discontinuation of anticoagulant treatment until diagnosis of VTE recurrence or the end of follow-up. A total of 126 patients (12%) had VTE recurrence during follow-up. Cox regression analyses showed that sex modified the potential effect of FTO rs9939609 polymorphism on VTE recurrence. Male patients with the AA genotype for the FTO rs9939609 polymorphism had significantly higher risk of VTE recurrence as compared to the TT or AT genotypes (univariate hazard ratio [HR] = 2.05, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.2-3.5, P = 0.009 and adjusted HR = 2.03, 95% CI 1.2-3.6, P = 0.013). There was no association between FTO rs9939609 polymorphism and VTE recurrence in female patients. In conclusion, our results show that FTO rs9939609 polymorphism in recurrent VTE may differ according to gender and FTO polymorphism may predict VTE recurrence in male patients.