Fruit Intake, Genetic Risk and Type 2 Diabetes: A Population Based Gene-Diet Interaction Analysis

Abstract

Background: Dietary fruit intake was reported to be associated with protective effect on type 2 diabetes (T2D). Whether an interaction exists between fruit intake and genetic predisposition in T2D was yet elucidated. The aim of the study was to examine the gene-dietary fruit intake interactions on risk of T2D presence and related glycemic traits. Methods: We recruited 11657 participants ≥ 40 years from a well-defined community-based population in Shanghai, China. Fruit intake was assessed by a qualified food frequency questionnaire. We created a T2D-genetic risk score (GRS) by including 34 established T2D common variants in East Asians. Findings: We found that the risk of T2D associated with each 1-point of T2D-GRS was gradually decreased from lower fruit intake level ( 3 per week) (P for interaction = 0.037), the corresponding odds ratio and 95% CI were 1.097 (1.070-1.126), 1.075 (1.052-1.099) and 1.066 (1.048-1.084). Analyses for fasting, 2h-postprandial plasma glucose and hemoglobin glycated A1c demonstrated consistent tendencies (all P for interaction < 0.05). Vice versa, the inverse associations of fruit intake with risk of T2D and glucose traits were more prominent in the higher T2D-GRS tertile. Interpretation: The genetic association of diabetes could be alleviated by higher fruit intake; the association of fruit intake with lower risk of diabetes could be strengthened by genetic predisposition of T2D. Funding Statement: This study was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81561128019, 81770842 and 81870604), the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (2018YFC1311705, 2016YFC1305600 and 2016YFC1304904), the Shanghai Science and Technology Commission (YDZX20173100004881) and the Shanghai Shen-Kang Hospital Development Center (SHDC12016202). Declaration of Interests: The authors stated: No potential conflicts of interest relevant to this article were reported. Ethics Approval Statement: The Institutional Review Board of Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, approved the study protocol. Each participant gave the written informed consent.