The effect of MTHFR(C677T) genotype on plasma homocysteine concentrations in healthy children is influenced by gender

Abstract

Objective: To explore the influence of gender, together with folate status, on the relation between the common methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T polymorphism and plasma total homocysteine (tHcy) concentrations in healthy children. Design: Cross-sectional study by face-to-face interview. Setting and subjects: A total of 186 sixth-grade students participated from twelve randomly selected primary schools in Volos, Greece. Methods: Fasting tHcy, folate, and vitamin B 12 were measured in plasma. The MTHFR genotypes were determined. Anthropometric and dietary intake data by 24-h recall were collected. Results: Geometric means for plasma tHcy, plasma folate and energy-adjusted dietary folate did not differ between females and males. The homozygous mutant TT genotype was associated with higher tHcy only in children with lower plasma folate concentrations (o19.9 nmol/l, P ¼ 0.012). As a significant gender interaction was observed (P ¼ 0.050), we stratified the lower plasma folate group by gender and found that the association between the genotype and tHcy was restricted to males (P ¼ 0.026). Similar results were obtained when folate status was based on estimated dietary folate. Specifically, only TT males that reported lower dietary folate consumption (o37 mg/MJ/day) had tHcy that was significantly higher than tHcy levels of C-allele carriers (P ¼ 0.001). Conclusions: Under conditions of lower folate status (as estimated by either plasma concentration or reported dietary consumption), gender modifies the association of the MTHFR(C677T) polymorphism with tHcy concentrations in healthy children. Sponsorship: Kellog Europe.

The Allele Frequencies of Three Polymorphisms in Genes Involved in Homocysteine Metabolism in a Group of Unrelated Healthy Singaporeans

“…However, further analysis showed that there were no gender bias on the frequency of T/T genotype in Chinese and Malays. This result was consistent with the recent finding that genotype frequencies were similar between males and females [49], but was in contrast to a study reporting that two-thirds of newborn infants with the T/T genotype were males [50]. There is no suggested explanation for such conflicting results yet.…”

Genetic polymorphisms modulate the folate metabolism of Brazilian individuals with Down syndrome

“…Furthermore, an increase in Hcy concentration was shown to be associated with the heterozygous TCN2 776 CG genotype when compared to the homozygous genotypes [36]. The discrepancy between these studies may be the result of several variables, such as differences in age, ethnicity, gender of the study subjects, folate intake, vitamin B 12 and B 6 intakes, genetic factors, and study design [4,43,44]. In this study, MMA concentration was inversely associated with age.…”

Association between vitamin B12intake and EURRECA's prioritized biomarkers of vitamin B12in young populations: a systematic review

“…Two out of three cross-sectional studies were conducted with children (33,37) , one study (34) was carried out among adolescents and one (35) included both children and adolescents. In three cross-sectional studies (33)(34)(35) , vitamin B 12 intake and plasma vitamin B 12 was described. However, searching for an association between intake and status was not the purpose of the studies.…”

“…Among the four cross-sectional studies (33)(34)(35)37) included in this population group, the only available finding was the positive association between children's intake of vitamin B 12 and serum HoloTC in one of them. In that study, serum vitamin B 12 and MMA were also investigated without any obtained association.…”