Background: Genes correlated with nicotine may be important in obesity because of the role of nicotine in food intake.
Methods: To determine if single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptor alpha2 subunit gene (CHRNA2) are associated with overweight/obesity, 156 non-obese and 200 overweight/obese Koreans were genotyped for four CHRNA2 SNPs using an Affymetrix Array Chip.
Results: Of four SNPs, only one, rs2043063, was associated with overweight/obesity in the study population (co-dominant, p=0.049; dominant, p=0.027). Associations between the significant SNP and obesity-related clinical characteristics were observed, but these were not significant.
Conclusions: The CHRNA2 rs2043063 SNP might be a risk factor for overweight/obesity in Koreans. Therefore, further studies are needed to investigate whether mutations or common polymorphisms of the CHRNA2 gene represent a risk factor for obesity.