Association of Salivary Amylase () Gene Copy Number with Obesity in Alabama Elementary School Children.

Salivary amylase (AMY1) is the most abundant enzyme in human saliva, responsible for the hydrolysis of α-1,4 glycosidic linkages that aids in the digestion of starch. Recently studies have shown that the copy number of AMY1 is associated with obesity; however, the data varies with location. One-third of children are overweight/obese in Alabama. In this study, we aim to determine the relationship between the copy number of gene and obesity measurements in children from Alabama. One hundred twenty-seven children aged between 6 to 10 years participated in this study. Anthropometric measurements were measured using WHO recommendations. Genomic DNA was extracted from saliva, and the copy number of the gene was estimated by digital PCR. The association between copy number and obesity measurements was analyzed by linear regression. The mean copy number significantly decreased in overweight/obese (6.21 ± 1.48) compared to normal weight (7.97 ± 2.35) children. copy number inversely associated with the obesity measurements. African Americans had a stronger association between low copy number and obesity compared to white/European Americans. Our findings suggest that overweight/obese children have a low copy number and the effect is more prominent in African Americans.