Longitudinal association of a body mass index (BMI) genetic risk score with growth and BMI changes across the life course: The Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study

The role of genetic risk scores associated with adult body mass index (BMI) on BMI levels across the life course is unclear. We examined if a 97 single nucleotide polymorphism weighted genetic risk score (wGRS97) associated with age-related progression in BMI at different life stages and distinct developmental trajectories of BMI across the early life course.2188 Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study participants born pre-1980 who had genotype data and objective measurements of height and weight collected up to 8 times from age 6 to 49 years. Associations were examined using Individual Growth Curve analysis, Latent Class Growth Mixture Modelling, and Poisson modified regression.The wGRS97 associated with BMI from age 6 years with peak effect sizes observed at age 30 years (females: 1.14 kg/mIndividuals with genetic susceptibility to higher adult BMI have higher levels and accelerated rates of increase in BMI in childhood/adolescence, and are at increased risk of having a less favourable life-course BMI trajectory.