Androgen receptor gene polymorphism influence fat accumulation: A longitudinal study from adolescence to adult age

To determine the influence of androgen receptor CAG and GGN repeat polymorphisms on fat mass and maximal fat oxidation (MFO), CAG and GGN repeat lengths were measured in 128 young boys, from which longitudinal data were obtained in 45 of them [mean +/- SD: 12.8 +/- 3.6 years old at recruitment, and 27.0 +/- 4.8 years old at adult age]. Subjects were grouped as CAG short (CAG(S)) if harboring repeat lengths 21, the rest as CAG long (CAG(L)); and GGN short (GGN(S)) if GGN repeat lengths 23, or long if >23 (GGN(L)). CAG(S) and GGN(S) were associated with lower adiposity than CAG(L) or GGN(L) (P<0.05). There was an association between the logarithm of CAG repeats polymorphism and the changes of body mass (r=0.34, P=0.03). At adult age, CAG(S) men showed lower accumulation of total body and trunk fat mass, and lower resting metabolic rate (RMR) and MFO per kg of total lean mass compared with CAG(L) (P<0.05). GGN(S) men also showed lower percentage of body fat (P<0.05). In summary, androgen receptor CAG and GGN repeat polymorphisms are associated with RMR, MFO, fat mass, and its regional distribution in healthy male adolescents, influencing fat accumulation from adolescence to adult age.