Association between polymorphisms in the leptin promoter and leptin receptor genes and cancer in a mediterranean population of the PREDIMED study

Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS) on Bilirubin Concentrations in Subjects with Metabolic Syndrome: Sex-Specific GWAS Analysis and Gene-Diet Interactions in a Mediterranean Population

Although, for decades, increased serum bilirubin concentrations were considered a threatening sign of underlying liver disease and had been associated with neonatal jaundice, data from recent years show that bilirubin is a powerful antioxidant and suggest that slightly increased serum bilirubin concentrations are protective against oxidative stress-related diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, a better understanding of the gene-diet interactions in determining serum bilirubin concentrations is needed. None of the previous genome-wide association studies (GWAS) on bilirubin concentrations has been stratified by sex. Therefore, considering the increasing interest in incorporat…

DNA methylation of the CYP1A1 and GSTP1 genes and incidence of major cancers (lung, breast and colon) in the PREDIMED-Valencia study

Sex-Specific Differences in the Control of Serum Concentrations of Glycine in Subjects with Metabolic Syndrome and Mendelian Randomization Analysis for Obesity

OBJECTIVES: Glycine is a novel circulating marker for metabolic diseases associated with lower type-2 diabetes and protection against obesity in some studies. Circulating glycine levels are genetically determined under the control of several loci. The locus most strongly associated is the carbamoyl-phosphate synthase I (CPS1). Interestingly, some sex-specific genome-wide association studies (GWAS) showed differences in the effect of the main single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in this locus on glycine levels (significant sex * CPS1 interactions). However, the potential mechanisms explaining this sex-heterogeneity are unknown. Therefore, our aims were: 1) to analyze whether the sex * CPS1…

Global and sex-specific epigenome-wide association studies for the identification of the main methylated loci related to smoking in a mediterranean population

Abstract Background Tobacco use has been reported to be the main cause of 90% of male and 80% of female lung cancers, as well as a relevant risk factor for other cancers such as oropharynx, larynx, esophagus, stomach, liver, pancreas, kidney, bladder, and colorectum. Smoking directly affects DNA methylation and although several genes have been reported to be differentially methylated in smokers, gender differences and population-specific differences remain to be further investigated. Our aim was to undertake global and sex-specific genome-wide epigenomic studies (EWAS) in a Mediterranean population to identify the main smoking DNA-methylated genes. Methods We analyzed 88 participants in the…

Associations of the FTO rs9939609 and the MC4R rs17782313 polymorphisms with type 2 diabetes are modulated by diet, being higher when adherence to the Mediterranean diet pattern is low

Background: Although the Fat Mass and Obesity (FTO) and Melanocortin-4 Receptor (MC4R) genes have been consistently associated with obesity risk, the association between the obesity-risk alleles with type 2 diabetes is still controversial. In some recent meta-analyses in which significant results have been reported, the associations disappeared after adjustment for body mass index (BMI). However gene-diet interactions with dietary patterns have not been investigated. Our main aim was to analyze whether these associations are modulated by the level of adherence to the Mediterranean Diet (MedDiet). Methods: Case-control study in 7,052 high cardiovascular risk subjects (3,430 type 2 diabetes c…

Short-Term Effects on Gene-Expression and on DNA-Methylation at the Genome-Wide Level of the Iberian Ham Intake and Compared With Orange Intake: A Crossover Randomized Trial

OBJECTIVES: Diet regulates gene expression and methylation profiles by several mechanisms. However, studies analyzing the simultaneous effect of specific foods on gene-expression and DNA methylation at the genome-wide level are very scarce. Therefore our aims were: To study the short-term transcriptomics and epigenomcis effects at the genome-wide level of the Iberian ham intake compared with orange intake in the same subjects. METHODS: We carried out a cross-over randomized trial (registered at ISRCTN17906849) in 33 healhty volunteers (aged 18–50 years and 50% females) of European ancestry. After 12h fasting, participants were randomly allocated to eat 67.5 g of Iberian ham (100% pure iberi…

Candidate Gene and Genome-Wide Association Studies for Circulating Leptin Levels Reveal Population and Sex-Specific Associations in High Cardiovascular Risk Mediterranean Subjects

Leptin is a hormone crucial in the regulation of food intake and body-weight maintenance. However, the genes and gene variants that influence its plasma levels are still not well known. Results of studies investigating polymorphisms in candidate genes have been inconsistent, and, in addition, very few genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have been undertaken. Our aim was to investigate the genes and gene variants most associated with plasma leptin concentrations in a high-cardiovascular-risk Mediterranean population. We measured plasma leptin in 1011 men and women, and analyzed the genetic factors associated using three approaches: (1) Analyzing the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) …

MicroRNAs and Drinking : Association between the Pre-miR-27a rs895819 Polymorphism and Alcohol Consumption in a Mediterranean Population

Recently, microRNAs (miRNA) have been proposed as regulators in the different processes involved in alcohol intake, and differences have been found in the miRNA expression profile in alcoholics. However, no study has focused on analyzing polymorphisms in genes encoding miRNAs and daily alcohol consumption at the population level. Our aim was to investigate the association between a functional polymorphism in the pre-miR-27a (rs895819 A>G) gene and alcohol consumption in an elderly population. We undertook a cross-sectional study of PREvención con DIeta MEDiterránea (PREDIMED)-Valencia participants (n = 1007, including men and women aged 67 7 years) and measured their alcohol consumption (to…

Longitudinal association of changes in diet with changes in body weight and waist circumference in subjects at high cardiovascular risk: the PREDIMED trial

Background Consumption of certain foods is associated with long-term weight gains and abdominal fat accumulation in healthy, middle-aged and young, non-obese participants. Whether the same foods might be associated with changes in adiposity in elderly population at high cardiovascular risk is less known. Objective Using yearly repeated measurements of both food habits and adiposity parameters, we aimed to investigate how changes in the consumption of specific foods were associated with concurrent changes in weight or waist circumference (WC) in the PREDIMED trial. Design We followed-up 7009 participants aged 55-70 years at high cardiovascular risk for a median time of 4.8 years. A validated…

CLOCK gene variation is associated with incidence of type‑2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases in type‑2 diabetic subjects: dietary modulation in the PREDIMED randomized trial

Background: Circadian rhythms regulate key biological processes influencing metabolic pathways. Disregulation is associated with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Circadian rhythms are generated by a transcriptional autoregulatory feedback loop involving core clock genes. CLOCK (circadian locomotor output cycles protein kaput), one of those core genes, is known to regulate glucose metabolism in rodent models. Cross-sectional studies in humans have reported associations between this locus and obesity, plasma glucose, hypertension and T2D prevalence, supporting its role in cardiovascular risk. However, no longitudinal study has investigated the association between CLOCK…

Legume consumption is inversely associated with type 2 diabetes incidence in adults: A prospective assessment from the PREDIMED study

Background & aims: Legumes, a low-energy, nutrient-dense and low glycemic index food, have shown beneficial effects on glycemic control and adiposity. As such, legumes are widely recommended in diabetic diets, even though there is little evidence that their consumption protects against type 2 diabetes. Therefore the aim of the present study was to examine the associations between consumption of total legumes and specific subtypes, and type 2 diabetes risk. We also investigated the effect of theoretically substituting legumes for other protein- or carbohydrate-rich foods. Methods: Prospective assessment of 3349 participants in the PREvención con DIeta MEDiterránea (PREDIMED) study without ty…

Association of Taste Perception for Sweet, Salt, Sour, Bitter and Umami and Food Intake Among Community-dwelling Adults in the PREDIMED-PLUS Trial (P18-065-19)

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the association between taste perception for sweet, salt, sour, bitter and umami and food category intakes. We hypothesized that greater taste perception will be inversely associated with the amount consumed. METHODS: A cross-sectional baseline analysis was performed on community-dwelling overweight adults with metabolic syndrome (N = 367, 55–75y) from the PREDIMED-PLUS Trial, University of Valencia Center, Spain. Taste perception was determined by challenging subjects with standard solutions of sweet, salt, sour, bitter and umami (400 mM sucrose, 200 mM NaCl, 34 mM citric acid, 5.6 mM phenylthiocarbamide (PTC), 200 mM monopotassium glutamate, respectively) and ev…

Estudio de investigación cualitativa sobre las diferencias entre hombres y mujeres en la percepción de la obesidad, sus causas, abordaje y repercusiones para la salud

Introducción: aunque la obesidad es un problema de salud multidimensional, pocos estudios de investigación cualitativa han analizado el discurso de personas obesas con perspectiva de género para conocer con mayor  profundidad información difícilmente obtenible con técnicas cuantitativas.Objetivo: analizar el discurso de personas obesas mediante grupos de discusión en cuanto a factores que subyacen en la obesidad, percepción del riesgo de patologías, pérdida peso y otros factores relevantes.Métodos: se realizaron dos grupos de discusión en sesiones separadas, homogéneos por sexo, con un total de 14 participantes. Un moderador dirigió la sesión contemplando las distintas dimensiones del probl…

Association of the rs4567312 variant in the leptin receptor gene with plasma leptin concentrations and lung cancer incidence in the PREDIMED study

The rs9939609-fto polymorphism is associated with methylation levels in both men and women from a high cardiovascular risk population

Effect of the polymorphisms rs1476413, rs1801131, rs4846052 and rs6541003 of the MTHFR gene on prostate cancer in a high cardiovascular risk population

Glycolysis/gluconeogenesis- and tricarboxylic acid cycle–related metabolites, Mediterranean diet, and type 2 diabetes

Background: Glycolysis/gluconeogenesis and tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle metabolites have been associated with type 2 diabetes (T2D). However, the associations of these metabolites with T2D incidence and the potential effect of dietary interventions remain unclear. Objectives: We aimed to evaluate the association of baseline and 1-y changes in glycolysis/gluconeogenesis and TCA cycle metabolites with insulin resistance and T2D incidence, and the potential modifying effect of Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) interventions. Methods: We included 251 incident T2D cases and 638 noncases in a nested case-cohort study within the PREDIMED Study during median follow-up of 3.8 y. Participants were alloc…

Association between taste perception and adiposity in overweight or obese older subjects with metabolic syndrome and identification of novel taste-related genes.

BACKGROUND The relation between taste perception, diet, and adiposity remains controversial. Additionally, there is a lack of knowledge on the polymorphisms influencing taste given the scarcity of genome-wide association studies (GWASs) published. OBJECTIVES We studied the relation between perception of the basic tastes, i.e., sweet, salty, bitter, sour, and umami (separately and jointly in a "taste score"), and anthropometric measurements in older subjects with metabolic syndrome (MetS). GWASs were undertaken to identify genes associated with basic tastes and their score. METHODS Taste perception was cross-sectionally determined by challenging subjects (381 older individuals with MetS) wit…

Isotemporal substitution of inactive time with physical activity and time in bed: cross-sectional associations with cardiometabolic health in the PREDIMED-Plus study

Background: This study explored the association between inactive time and measures of adiposity, clinical parameters, obesity, type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome components. It further examined the impact of reallocating inactive time to time in bed, light physical activity (LPA) or moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) on cardio-metabolic risk factors, including measures of adiposity and body composition, biochemical parameters and blood pressure in older adults. Methods: This is a cross-sectional analysis of baseline data from 2189 Caucasian men and women (age 55-75 years, BMI 27-40 Kg/m(2)) from the PREDIMED-Plus study (http://www.predimedplus.com/). All participants had >= 3…

Sleep Duration is Inversely Associated with Serum Uric Acid Concentrations and Uric Acid to Creatinine Ratio in an Elderly Mediterranean Population at High Cardiovascular Risk

The aim of the study was to evaluate sleep duration and sleep variability in relation to serum uric acid (SUA) concentrations and SUA to creatinine ratio. This is a cross-sectional analysis of baseline data from 1842 elderly participants with overweight/obesity and metabolic syndrome in the (Prevencion con Dieta Mediterranea) PREDIMED-Plus trial. Accelerometry-derived sleep duration and sleep variability were measured. Linear regression models were fitted to examine the aforementioned associations. A 1 hour/night increment in sleep duration was inversely associated with SUA concentrations ( = -0.07, p = 0.047). Further adjustment for leukocytes attenuated this association (p = 0.050). Each …

Protective effect of homovanillyl alcohol on cardiovascular disease and total mortality: virgin olive oil, wine, and catechol-methylathion

Background: Hydroxytyrosol is a phenolic compound that is present in virgin olive oil (VOO) and wine. Hydroxytyrosol-related foods have been shown to protect against cardiovascular disease (CVD).Objective: We investigated the associations between hydroxytyrosol and its biological metabolite, 3-O-methyl-hydroxytyrosol, also known as homovanillyl alcohol (HVAL), with CVD and total mortality.Design: We included 1851 men and women with a mean ± SD age of 66.8 ± 6 y at high risk of CVD from prospective cohort data. The primary endpoint was a composite of myocardial infarction, stroke, and death from cardiovascular causes; the secondary endpoint was all-cause mortality. Twenty-four-hour urinary h…

Low Serum Choline Concentrations Are Associated with Worse Cognitive Performance in Subjects with Metabolic Syndrome

OBJECTIVES: Choline is an essential nutrient critical for components of the cell membrane, such as choline-containing phospholipids (phosphatidylcholine and sphingomyelin), and in synthesis of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Choline has been shown to exert neuroprotective effects, but the association between serum choline and cognitive performance has been scarcely investigated. Our aims are: 1) To study the association between serum total choline, phosphatidylcholine and sphingomyelin with cognitive performance in subjects with metabolic syndrome; and 2) to analyze genetic variants and dietary intake most associated with cholines in this population. METHODS: We analyzed 426 subjects (a…

Bitter, Sweet, Salty, Sour and Umami Taste Perception Decreases with Age: Sex-Specific Analysis, Modulation by Genetic Variants and Taste-Preference Associations in 18 to 80 Year-Old Subjects

There is growing interest in relating taste perception to diet and healthy aging. However, there is still limited information on the influence of age, sex and genetics on taste acuity as well as on the relationship between taste perception and taste preferences. We have analysed the influence of age on the intensity rating of the five basic tastes: sweet, salty, bitter, sour and umami (separately and jointly in a &ldquo

Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Ion Mobility Separation-Quadruple Time-of-Flight MS (UHPLC-IMS-QTOF MS) Metabolomics for Short-Term Biomarker Discovery of Orange Intake: A Randomized, Controlled Crossover Study

A major problem with dietary assessments is their subjective nature. Untargeted metabolomics and new technologies can shed light on this issue and provide a more complete picture of dietary intake by measuring the profile of metabolites in biological samples. Oranges are one of the most consumed fruits in the world, and therefore one of the most studied for their properties. The aim of this work was the application of untargeted metabolomics approach with the novel combination of ion mobility separation coupled to high resolution mass spectrometry (IMS-HRMS) and study the advantages that this technique can bring to the area of dietary biomarker discovery, with the specific case of biomarker…

Association Between Fatty Acids of Blood Cell Membranes and Incidence of Coronary Heart Disease

Objective— To examine the associations between baseline levels of fatty acids in blood cell membranes and their 1-year changes with the incidence of coronary heart disease (CHD) in older adults at high cardiovascular disease risk. Approach and Results— This is a case-control study nested in the PREDIMED trial (Prevención con Dieta Mediterránea), with 136 CHD cases and 272 controls (matched on age, sex, body mass index, intervention group, and time of permanence in the study to the time event). We used gas chromatography to measure the proportion of 22 fatty acids in blood cell membranes at baseline and after 1 year. Conditional logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and…

Effectiveness of the physical activity intervention program in the PREDIMED-Plus study: a randomized controlled trial

[Background] The development and implementation of effective physical activity (PA) intervention programs is challenging, particularly in older adults. After the first year of the intervention program used in the ongoing PREvención con DIeta MEDiterránea (PREDIMED)-Plus trial, we assessed the initial effectiveness of the PA component.

Effect of the polymorphism rs2470893 of the CYP1A1 gene on ovarian and endometrial cancer in Mediterranean women

Association between the rs6950982 polymorphism near the SERPINE1 gene and blood pressure and lipid parameters in a high-cardiovascular-risk population: interaction with Mediterranean diet

The SERPINE1 (serpin peptidase inhibitor, clade E, member 1) gene, better known by its previous symbol PAI-1 (plasminogen activator inhibitor 1), has been associated with cardiovascular phenotypes with differing results. Our aim was to examine the association between the rs6950982 (G  A) near the SERPINE1 gene, blood pressure (BP) and plasma lipid concentrations as well as the modulation of the polymorphism effects by adherence to Mediterranean diet (AMD). We studied 945 high-cardiovascular-risk subjects. Biochemical, clinical, dietary and genetic data (rs6950982) were obtained. We also determined the common rs1799768 (4G/5G), for checking independent effects. AMD was measured by a validate…

Influence of Demographic and Lifestyle Variables on Plasma Magnesium Concentrations and Their Associations with Cardiovascular Risk Factors in a Mediterranean Population.

Several studies have shown that a low magnesium (Mg) intake in the diet is associated with greater cardiovascular risk and greater risk of diabetes. However, the results are not consistent in all populations. To minimize the biases derived from diet measurement, more objective biomarkers of magnesium status have been proposed. Although there is still no ideal biomarker for Mg, several studies have shown that plasma Mg concentrations could be a relatively acceptable biomarker for cardiovascular risk assessment. However, further studies are required to better characterize this marker in different populations. Our aim was to analyze the association between plasma Mg concentrations (measured th…

Transcriptomic autophagy-related gene signature investigation for type 2 diabetes in Mediterranean subjects

Abstract Background Autophagy (involving degradation and clearance of damaged organelles and compounds) plays a role in type 2 diabetes (T2D). There are three main types of autophagy and several genes involved. These genes have been well studied in animal models, but there are few transcriptomic studies in humans. Our aim is to analyze the differential gene expression, and the functional enrichment of the main autophagy-related genes (ARG) in T2D subjects from a Mediterranean population Methods We analyzed 120 White-European subjects (mean age 61,4 years; 50% women; 24 T2D) from Valencia, Spain. Clinical and lifestyle data were obtained. ARN was isolated from blood. Transcriptome-wide gene …

Dietary inflammatory index and all-cause mortality in large cohorts: The SUN and PREDIMED studies

[Background]: Inflammation is known to be related to the leading causes of death including cardiovascular disease, several types of cancer, obesity, type 2 diabetes, depression-suicide and other chronic diseases. In the context of whole dietary patterns, the Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII®) was developed to appraise the inflammatory potential of the diet. [Objective]: We prospectively assessed the association between DII scores and all-cause mortality in two large Spanish cohorts and valuated the consistency of findings across these two cohorts and results published based on other cohorts.

Genome-Wide Association Study for Serum Omega-3 and Omega-6 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids: Exploratory Analysis of the Sex-Specific Effects and Dietary Modulation in Mediterranean Subjects with Metabolic Syndrome.

Many early studies presented beneficial effects of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) on cardiovascular risk factors and disease. However, results from recent meta-analyses indicate that this effect would be very low or nil. One of the factors that may contribute to the inconsistency of the results is that, in most studies, genetic factors have not been taken into consideration. It is known that fatty acid desaturase (FADS) gene cluster in chromosome 11 is a very important determinant of plasma PUFA, and that the prevalence of the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) varies greatly between populations and may constitute a bias in meta-analyses. Previous genome-wide association studies (GW…