A prevalent polymorphism in the promoter of the UCP3 gene and its relationship to body mass index and long term body weight change in the Danish population

Variability of the uncoupling protein 3 (UCP3) promoter has been associated with increased body mass index (BMI) and altered lipid profiles. Here we t ested the hypothesis that variation of the UCP3 promoter is associated with either juvenile or maturity-onset obesity or body weight change over a 26- yr follow-up among Danish subjects. Mutation screening of approximately 1 k b 5' upstream of the UCP3 gene revealed one previously described -55 C->T v ariant. The frequency of the polymorphism was evaluated by restriction frag ment length polymorphism analysis in four groups of subjects: 1) a group of 744 obese Danish men who at the draft board examinations had a body mass i ndex (BMI) of at least 31 kg/m(2), 2) a randomly selected control group con sisting of 857 draftees, 3) 258 middle-aged subjects, and 4) 409 60-yr-old subjects. The frequency of the T allele was 26.0% (95% confidence interval, 23.8-28.2%) among the obese draftees and 26.9% (24.8-29.0%) in the control group (P = 0.6). The variant was not associated with BMI at a young age or with weight gain after a 26-yr follow-up. The frequency of the T allele wa s 29.5% (25.6-33.4%) in the middle-aged group and 25.8% (22.8-28.8%) among the 60-yr-old subjects. The polymorphism was not associated with increased BMT or percent body fat in these 2 groups. It is concluded that this varian t does not play a major role in the development of common obesity among Dan ish subjects.