Genome-wide association study of genetic factors related to confectionery intake: Potential roles of the ADIPOQ gene

Objective: The excessive consumption of confectionery might have adverse effects on human health. To screen genetic factors associated with confectionery-intake frequency, a genome-wide association study (GWAS) in Japan was conducted. Design and Methods: For the discovery phase (stage 1), we conducted a GWAS of 939 noncancer patients in a cancer hospital. Additive models were used to test associations between genotypes of approximately 500,000 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and the confectionery-intake score (based on intake frequency). We followed-up association signals with P < 1 × 10^-5 and minor allele frequency >0.01 in stage 1 by genotyping the SNPs of 4,491 participants in a cross-sectional study within a cohort (replication phase [stage 2]). Results: We identified 12 SNPs in stage 1 that were potentially related to confectionery intake. In stage 2, this association was replicated for one SNP (rs822396; P = 0.049 for stage 2 and 4.2 × 10^-5 for stage 1+2) in intron 1 of the ADIPOQ gene, which encodes the adipokine adiponectin. Conclusions: Given the biological plausibility and previous relevant findings, the association of an SNP in the ADIPOQ gene with a preference for confectionery is worthy of follow-up and provides a good working hypothesis for experimental testing.