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Updated: Jan 18, 2026
Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
Published on: February 2, 2017
Childhood obesity influences mid-to-late life bone health through shared genetic architecture
Maoyao Xia1, Yang Qu2, Bowen Lei2
1Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene and West China-PUMC C. C. Chen Institute of Health, West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, No. 16, Section 3, South Renmin Road, Wuhou District, Chengdu, 610041, China.
Background:
Despite higher body mass index (BMI) in adulthood being widely acknowledged as protective for bone mineral density (BMD), the effect of childhood BMI on adult BMD remains inconclusive. This study aims to elucidate the shared genetic basis underlying childhood BMI and adult heel estimated BMD (eBMD).
Methods:
We conducted a comprehensive genome-wide cross-trait analysis to determine the genetic correlations, pleiotropic loci, and causal relationships between childhood BMI and adult eBMD. Summary statistics were collected from the hitherto largest available genome-wide association studies conducted for childhood BMI (N = 62,026) and adult eBMD (N = 426,824) of European individuals.
Results:
A significant positive overall genetic correlation was observed for childhood BMI and adult eBMD (rg = 0.09, P = 4.00 × 10-4), which was supported by the significant local signal observed in one genomic region (5q21.3). The shared genetic basis was further emphasized by 55 pleiotropic loci identified through the cross-trait meta-analysis, 11 shared gene-tissue pairs observed in transcriptome-wide association study, and a robust causal relationship demonstrated by Mendelian randomization (β = 0.12, 95 %CIs = 0.06-0.18).
Conclusions:
Our work highlights the substantial shared genetic influence and putative causal link underlying childhood BMI and mid-to-late life eBMD, offering new avenues for personalized prevention strategies against osteoporosis.
Trial Registration:
Not applicable.
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