NAFLD‐related gene polymorphisms and all‐cause and cause‐specific mortality in an Asian population: the Shanghai Changfeng Study

The PNPLA3 and TM6SF2 gene variants have been found to cause NAFLD with a favourable cardiovascular risk profile.To investigate the effects of the NAFLD risk alleles on the all-cause and cause-specific mortality in 5581 Chinese adults.The genome-wide genotypes were detected using a genotyping array and serum lipoprotein profiles were examined using 1H NMR platform. Liver fat content (LFC) was measured using a quantitative ultrasound method. The vital status was determined using official registration data.Genome-wide association analysis showed that a series of variants in PNPLA3 were associated with LFC, including rs738409 CG variant (P = 8.6 × 10The PNPLA3 rs738409 CG variant and its combination with TM6SF2 rs58542926 CT and MBOAT7 rs641738 CT variants increase liver-specific mortality but reduce cardiovascular mortality in overweight/obese Chinese.