Apolipoprotein A2 polymorphism interacts with intakes of dairy foods to influence body weight in 2 U.S. populations

Authors: SMITH, CAREN - Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging At Tufts University; TUCKER, KATHERINE - Northeastern University; ARNETT, DONNA - University Of Alabama; NOEL, SABRINA - Northeastern University; CORELLA, DOLORES - University Of Valencia; BORECKI, INGRID - Washington University; FEITOSA, MARY - Washington University; ASLIBEKYAN, STELLA - University Of Alabama; Parnell, Laurence; Lai, Chao Qiang; LEE, YU-CHI - Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging At Tufts University; ORDOVAS, JOSE - Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging At Tufts University

Submitted to: Journal of Nutrition
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/20/2013
Publication Date: 10/9/2013
Citation: Smith, C.E., Tucker, K.L., Arnett, D.K., Noel, S.E., Corella, D., Borecki, I.B., Feitosa, M.F., Aslibekyan, S., Parnell, L.D., Lai, C., Lee, Y., Ordovas, J.M. 2013. Apolipoprotein A2 polymorphism interacts with intakes of dairy foods to influence body weight in 2 U.S. populations. Journal of Nutrition. 143(12):1865-1871.

Interpretive Summary: Obesity is a product of environmental and genetic factors, and we are beginning to understand some of the relationships between these factors and how they can contribute to increased body weight. We refer to these combinations of genetic and dietary factors as ‘gene-diet interactions’. In earlier studies, we demonstrated interactions between dietary fat and the genetic factor APOA2 m265 for the outcome of body weight, and confirmed our findings in several populations. Specifically, for APOA2 m265, greater consumption of saturated fats (found mostly in foods of animal origin) was associated with greater weight in people who carried the APOA2 m265 genetic factor. In the current study, we sought to extend our previous findings by exploring foods containing saturated fat, such as dairy products. By evaluating gene-diet interactions between APOA2 and dairy products of different forms (low fat vs. high fat) we demonstrated that individuals carrying the APOA2 factor tended to have higher body weight with greater intake of high fat dairy products. Further, we were able to demonstrate this relationship in two US populations of different ancestries (European Americans and Puerto Ricans living in the US). These findings increase our understanding of how genetics and diet act together to promote weight gain, and may eventually have implications for dietary recommendations that make use of genetic information.

Technical Abstract: The interaction between a functional apolipoprotein A2 gene (APOA2) variant and saturated fatty acids (SFAs) for the outcome of body mass index (BMI) is among the most widely replicated gene-nutrient interactions. Whether this interaction can be extrapolated to food-based sources of SFAs, specifically dairy foods, is unexplored. Cross-sectional analyses were performed in 2 U.S. population-based samples. We evaluated interactions between dairy foods and APOA2 -265T > C (rs5082) for BMI in the Boston Puerto Rican Health Study (n = 955) and tested for replication in the Genetics of Lipid Lowering Drugs and Diet Network (GOLDN) study (n = 1116). Dairy products were evaluated as total dairy, higher-fat dairy (>1%), and low-fat dairy (is less than or equal to 1%) in servings per day, dichotomized into high and low based on each population median and also as continuous variables. We identified a statistically significant interaction between the APOA2 -265T > C variant and higher-fat dairy food intake in the Boston Puerto Ricans (P-interaction = 0.028) and replicated this relation in the GOLDN study (P-interaction = 0.001). In both groups, individuals with the previously demonstrated SFA-sensitive genotype (CC) who consumed a greater amount of higher-fat dairy foods had greater BMI (P = 0.013 in Boston Puerto Ricans; P = 0.0007 in GOLDN women) compared with those consuming less of the higher-fat dairy foods. The results expand the understanding of the metabolic influence of dairy products, an important food group for which variable relations to body weight may be in part genetically based. Moreover, these findings suggest that other strongly demonstrated gene-nutrient relations might be investigated through appropriate food-based, translatable avenues and may be relevant to dietary management of obesity.