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Updated: Jun 29, 2026
09:29
Skeletal Muscle Gender Dimorphism from Proteomics
Published on: December 14, 2011
Sex-specific genetic effects influence variation in body composition.
M C Zillikens1, M Yazdanpanah, L M Pardo
1Department of Internal Medicine, Erasmus Medical Centre, P.O. Box 2040, 3000 CA, Rotterdam, the Netherlands. m.c.zillikens@erasmusmc.nl
Diabetologia
|October 8, 2008
Summary
Sexual dimorphism in body composition is influenced by sex-specific genes, not just environmental factors. These genetic differences impact traits like fat percentage and lean mass, with implications for disease risk.
Area of Science:
- Human genetics
- Body composition research
- Metabolic disease research
Background:
- Sex differences in body composition are well-established.
- The underlying genetic and environmental contributions to these differences remain largely unknown.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether sex-specific genetic or environmental effects contribute to sex differences in body composition.
- To partition body composition variation into genetic and environmental components separately for men and women.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of body composition in 2,506 individuals from a Dutch genetic isolate (Erasmus Rucphen Family study).
- Utilized dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and anthropometry.
- Employed variance decomposition to separate genetic and environmental influences on body composition traits.
Main Results:
- Heritability for body composition traits ranged from 0.39 (fat mass index) to 0.84 (height).
- Identified sex-specific genetic effects for fat percentage, lean mass, lean mass index, and fat distribution, but not BMI or height.
- Found significant genetic correlations between sexes for multiple traits, indicating distinct genetic influences.
Conclusions:
- Sex-specific genetic effects are a key driver of sexual dimorphism in several body composition traits.
- These findings have significant implications for understanding the relationship between body composition and common diseases such as cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.
- Highlights the importance of considering sex-specific genetic factors in future genetic association studies.
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