Abstract
Purpose The development of metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes (T2D) is closely linked to a complex interplay between genetic and dietary factors. The prevalence of abdominal obesity, hyperinsulinemia, dyslipidaemia, and high blood pressure among Brazilian adolescents is increasing and hence, early lifestyle interventions targeting these factors might be an effective strategy to prevent or slow the progression of T2D. Methods We aimed to assess the interaction between dietary and genetic factors on metabolic disease-related traits in 200 healthy Brazilian young adults. Dietary intake was assessed using 3-day food records. Ten metabolic disease-related single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were used to construct a metabolic-genetic risk score (metabolic-GRS). Results We found significant interactions between the metabolic-GRS and total fat intake on fasting insulin level (P-interaction = 0.017), insulin-glucose ratio (P-interaction = 0.010) and HOMA-B (P-interaction = 0.002), respectively, in addition to a borderline GRS-fat intake interaction on HOMA-IR (P-interaction = 0.051). Within the high-fat intake category [37.98 +/- 3.39% of total energy intake (TEI)], individuals with >= 5 risk alleles had increased fasting insulin level (P = 0.021), insulin-glucose ratio (P = 0.010), HOMA-B (P = 0.001) and HOMA-IR (P = 0.053) than those with < 5 risk alleles. Conclusion Our study has demonstrated a novel GRS-fat intake interaction in young Brazilian adults, where individuals with higher genetic risk and fat intake had increased glucose and insulin-related traits than those with lower genetic risk. Large intervention and follow-up studies with an objective assessment of dietary factors are needed to confirm our findings.