Genome- and epigenome-wide association study of hypertriglyceridemic waist in Mexican American families

Background There is growing interest in the hypertriglyceridemic waist (HTGW) phenotype, defined as high waist circumference (≥95 cm in males and ≥80 cm in females) combined with high serum triglyceride concentration (≥2.0 mmol/L in males and ≥1.5 mmol/L in females) as a marker of type 2 diabetes (T2D) and cardiovascular disease. However, the prevalence of this phenotype in high-risk populations, its association with T2D, and the genetic or epigenetic influences on HTGW are not well explored. Using data from large, extended families of Mexican Americans (a high-risk minority population in the USA) we aimed to: (1) estimate the prevalence of this phenotype, (2) test its association with T2D and related traits, and (3) dissect out the genetic and epigenetic associations with this phenotype using genome-wide and epigenome-wide studies, respectively.