The Association of MTHFR C677T Gene Variants and Lipid Profiles or Body Mass Index in Patients With Diabetic and Nondiabetic Coronary Heart Disease

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate whether methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T mutation is associated with the development of hyperlipoproteinemia and obesity in coronary heart disease (CHD). This study was carried out in 82 diabetic and 112 nondiabetic patients with CHD and in 138 CHD-free healthy controls. Polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and agarose gel electrophoresis techniques were used to determine the MTHFR C677T. Distributions of MTHFR genotypes (C677T dbSNP: rs1801133) were similar in our study groups (P > 0.05). There was no statistical association between biochemical parameters and genotype distribution in nondiabetic CHD patients, while diabetic CC genotype carriers have elevated levels of body mass index (BMI) independently from lipid profiles (P = 0.002). In diabetic CHD patients, while evaluating the clinical parameters according to gender, it was found that gender had an impact on BMI (P = 0.013). Due to this gender effect, a multivariate analysis was conducted on the diabetic CHD patient group. The multivariate logistic regression analysis confirmed that the MTHFR-CC genotype was associated with elevated BMI levels in diabetic CHD patients (odds ratio [OR] = 5.42, P = 0.003). The results of the present study demonstrated that possessing T allele of MTHFR C677T mutation indicates a protective association on BMI independently from other risk factors.