70-LB: Fat Mass and Obesity-Associated rs9939609 Gene Variant Is Related to Fasting Glucose in Children with Mental Health Conditions

Over one million Canadian children are estimated to have a mental health condition, such as depression, anxiety, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Many are treated with second-generation antipsychotics (SGA). In some children, SGA treatment is associated with excessive weight gain and metabolic complications including a 3-fold greater risk for type 2 diabetes. We currently have no way to identify SGA-treated children at risk for metabolic complications. The goal of our study is to determine if the fat mass and obesity-associated gene (FTO) rs9939609 variant is associated with metabolic complications in SGA-treated children. A cross-sectional population of SGA-treated (n=232) and SGA-naïve (n=378) children (≤18y) were recruited through Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at BC Children’s Hospital. Participants were genotyped, metabolic markers assessed; dietary intakes were estimated in a subset of children (n=79). The FTO rs9939609 variant genotype frequencies were not different between SGA-treated (TT 44%, TA 38%, AA 18%) and SGA-naïve (TT 42%, TA 39%, AA 19%) children. An interaction was found between SGA status and FTO genotype for fasting glucose (p=0.014). In SGA-naïve children, the A allele carriers compared to non-carriers had higher fasting glucose (4.95 vs. 4.78 mmol/L; p=0.001) in a model adjusted for age, sex, ethnicity, and zBMI. This difference was not observed in SGA-treated children. Daily energy intakes of A allele carriers were not significantly higher compared to non-carries in SGA-treated (1855 vs. 2087 kcal) and SGA-naïve (1606 vs. 1871 kcal) children. Our findings suggest that the A allele of the FTO rs9939609 variant is associated with higher fasting glucose in SGA-naïve children with mental health conditions.