Usual dietary intake and change in DNA methylation over years: EWAS in KORA FF4 and KORA fit

Abstract

IntroductionChanges in DNA methylation can increase or suppress the expression of health-relevant genes. We investigated for the first time the relationship between habitual food consumption and changes in DNA methylation.MethodsThe German KORA FF4 and KORA Fit studies were used to study the change in methylation over a median follow-up of 4 years. Only subjects participating in both surveys and with available dietary and methylation data were included in the analysis (n = 465). DNA methylation was measured using the Infinium MethylationEPIC BeadChip (Illumina), resulting in 735,527 shared CpGs across both studies. Generalized estimating equation models with an interaction term of exposure and time point were used to analyze the association of 34 food groups, folic acid, and two dietary patterns with changes in DNA methylation over time.ResultsThe results were corrected for genomic inflation. Significant interaction terms indicate different effects between both time points. We observed only a few significant associations between food intake and change in DNA methylation, except for cream and spirit consumption. The annotated genes include CLN3, PROM1, DLEU7, TLL2, and UGT1A10.DiscussionWe identified weak associations between food consumption and DNA methylation change. The differential results for cream and spirits, both consumed in low quantities, require replication in independent studies.

Unveiling the Epigenetic Impact of Vegan vs. Omnivorous Diets on Aging: Insights from the Twins Nutrition Study (TwiNS)

“…Finally, the exploration of global DNA methylation patterns across the entire epigenome revealed notable disparities between the vegan and omnivore cohorts, identifying 607 and 494 differentially methylated loci (DMLs) across the genome, respectively. This comprehensive epigenome-wide analysis aligns with a growing body of literature examining the epigenetic effects of different dietary patterns (Do et al 2021;Hellbach, Sinke, et al 2023;Hellbach, Freuer, et al 2023). When we analyzed each diet group independently, we observed 322 hypomethylated probes in the vegan diet and 185 in the omnivore diet.…”