Adherence to low-carbohydrate diet inversely linked to rs671

An inverse association exists between rs671 and adherence to low-carbohydrate diet (LCD), according to a recent study in Japan, noting that alcohol consumption strongly attenuates such association.

This genome-wide association study (GWAS) on adherence to LCD was conducted in a total of 14,076 participants from the Japan Multi-Institutional Collaborative Cohort study. The investigators estimated food consumption using a previously validated semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire.

Linear regression analysis, adjusted for sex, age, total dietary energy consumption, and components 1 to 10 by principal component analysis, was performed to explore the association of the imputed variants with the LCD score. Finally, the investigators repeated the analysis with adjustment for alcohol consumption (g/day) in additional to the mentioned variables.

In the analysis of men and women without adjustment for alcohol consumption, 395 variants on chromosome 12 were found to have an association with the LCD score (p<5 × 10⁻⁸). A conditional analysis adding the dosage data of rs671 on chromosome 12 as a covariate revealed that p values for all 395 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) on chromosome 12 came to be insignificant.

In the analysis that adjusted for alcohol consumption, none of the SNPs correlated with the LCD score.

“LCDs are useful for weight reduction, and 50–55 percent carbohydrate consumption is associated with minimal risk,” the investigators said. “Genetic differences were related to nutritional consumption, food preferences, and dietary patterns.”