A nutrigenetic approach to examine the relationship between vitamin B12 status and cardio‐metabolic traits in multiple ethnic groups – findings from the GeNuIne Collaboration

Abstract

Low vitamin B12 concentration has been shown to be a risk factor for cardio‐metabolic traits in numerous observational studies; however, the relationship has remained inconsistent. It is possible that certain genotypes jointly contribute to cardio‐metabolic diseases and vitamin B12 deficiency, and these may be modulated by dietary factors. The main objective of this article is to summarise the findings from the GeNuIne (Gene‐Nutrient Interactions) Collaboration on the effect of gene–nutrient interactions on vitamin B12 concentrations and cardio‐metabolic disease risk factors in population‐based studies from different ethnic groups. Interactions between vitamin B12‐related single‐nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and protein energy intake (%) on waist circumference (Pinteration =0.002) and body fat percentage (Pinteraction =0.034) were observed in Sri Lankan and Indonesian populations, respectively. In the study in Brazilian adolescents, the metabolic and vitamin B12‐related SNPs showed a significant interaction with dietary carbohydrate and protein intakes on oxidised low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol and homocysteine concentrations, respectively. In the Asian Indian population, an association between obesity‐related SNPs and vitamin B12 concentrations (p = 0.018) was observed. In summary, these studies in multiple ethnic groups show that the association between genetically low vitamin B12 concentrations and cardio‐metabolic traits may be modified by dietary intake. Further studies utilising larger sample sizes are needed to confirm or refute our findings.

Interactions between Vitamin D Genetic Risk and Dietary Factors on Metabolic Disease-Related Outcomes in Ghanaian Adults

“…The GONG study is a part of the Gene-Nutrient Interactions (GeNuIne). Collaboration, the main objective of which is to explore gene-nutrient interactions on metabolic disease outcomes in different ethnicities using population-based studies from various countries [30][31][32][33]. The Oforikrom Municipal Assembly is one of the 43 districts in the Ashanti region in Ghana.…”

Genetics, genomics, and diet interactions in obesity in the Latin American environment

“…They evaluated in a Brazilian population, the metabolism and concentration of vitamin B12. As a result, they showed a significant interaction between dietary carbohydrate and protein intake on LDL cholesterol and homocysteine concentrations in obese individuals ( 125 ).…”

Implementation of Nutrigenetics and Nutrigenomics Research and Training Activities for Developing Precision Nutrition Strategies in Malaysia

“…Nutrigenetics is the study of the interactions between nutrition and genetic differences, often known as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), which can be aggregated into a genetic risk score (GRS) [ 26 , 38 ]. Genetic variations may influence protein synthesis and functions, thus altering dietary needs and metabolism and influencing a person’s risk of developing chronic diseases [ 10 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 ]. Nutrigenomics is the study of how nutrients and diet impact on genes, proteins, and metabolites as part of the omic sciences.…”

“…To tackle undernutrition, overnutrition, and micronutrient deficiencies, the lessons learned can be retrieved from studies conducted in similar contexts in order to enhance the scientific validity of the research performed. The past implementation of N 2 RTU by the GeNuIne Collaboration in a variety of contexts gives a background knowledge that can be extrapolated to other research units [ 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 ]. The strengths identified from previous nutrigenetic studies include a multidisciplinary research approach and the validity of methods used for dietary data collection, such as culturally adapted semi-structured food frequency questionnaires.…”