GATA4 and obesity due to melanocortin 4 receptor deficiency: Given the lack of information on the role of this gene in the etiology of atherosclerosis, our study sought to comprehensively investigate the likelihood of GATA4 polymorphism predisposing individuals to acquiring the cardiovascular metabolic risk traits, particularly dyslipidaemia, obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus and hypertension, as a potential trigger for the disease onset related to these disorders.