Type 2 diabetes is characterized by insulin resistance, and ENPP1 plays an important role in insulin resistance. We investigated the association of the ENPP1 K121Q polymorphism with both diabetes and obesity (body mass index [BMI]) in Korean male workers. The study design was case-control. Subjects were 1,945 male workers (type 2 diabetes, 195; non-diabetes, 1,750) of nuclear power plants who received examinations from March to October in 2004. We collected venous blood samples under fasting (or =8 hr) conditions, calculated BMI by height and weight, and assessed relevant biochemical factors. The results of this study demonstrated that the ENPP1 121Q genotype (KQ+QQ types) was not associated with type 2 diabetes (odds ratios [OR], 0.854; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.571-1.278) or obesity (OR, 0.933; 95% CI, 0.731-1.190). In addition, the frequency of the Q allele was not related to type 2 diabetes (OR, 0.911; 95% CI, 0.630-1.319) or obesity (OR, 0.962; 95% CI, 0.767-1.205). We concluded that the ENPP1 121Q allele is not a critical determinant for either diabetes or obesity in Korean males. The discordance between the results of this study and those derived from studies of Dominican, South Asian, Caucasian, Finnish, and French populations might be due to differences in genetic backgrounds between these populations.
