Antoine D, Guéant-Rodriguez RM, Chèvre JC, et al. - Fourteen low-frequency coding variants linked with BMI were identified in a prior study in 718,734 individuals predominantly of European ancestry. Researchers herein genotyped or sequenced the 14 low-frequency coding variants in 342 French adults with severe/morbid obesity and 574 French adult controls from the general population. Based on 6 BMI-increasing and 5 BMI-decreasing low-frequency coding variants that were polymorphic in the study, risk and protective genetic scores (GS) were generated. Findings from this study suggest the influence of low-frequency coding variants associated with BMI in the general population on the outcomes of bariatric surgery in patients with severe/morbid obesity in populations of European descent.

• Although there appeared no correlation between the risk GS and severe/morbid obesity status, patients with severe/morbid obesity showed significantly less frequent BMI-decreasing low-frequency coding variants when compared with French adults from the general population.

• In patients with severe/morbid obesity, no correlation of either the risk or the protective GS was observed with BMI before intervention, nor these had any impact on BMI change in response to a lifestyle/behavioral modification program.

• A greater BMI decrease was recorded following bariatric surgery in correlation with the protective GS.

• There appeared a higher and lower risk of BMI regain after bariatric surgery in correlation with the risk and protective GS, respectively.