Influence of nutritional factors and the PON1 C(‐107)T polymorphism on paraoxonase‐1 activity in childhood

Objective

The cardioprotective enzyme paraoxonase‐1 (PON1) suffers an important influence from genetic polymorphisms and nutritional factors. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of diet, nutritional status, and the C(‐107)T polymorphism on PON1 arylesterase activity in children.

Methods

This was a cross‐sectional study with 97 children, aged between 5 and 8 years, of both genders, from a pediatric outpatient clinic in southern Brazil. A sociodemographic, behavioral, and food consumption questionnaire was applied, and anthropometric measurements and laboratory blood samples were taken. PON1 arylesterase activity was measured by phenol extinction (U/mL), and DNA extraction and analysis of the PON1 C(‐107)T polymorphism were performed. The Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium was tested with the chi‐squared test and linear regression was used to estimate PON1 activity according to four adjustment models, with an acceptable error of 5%.

Results

In the sample, the male gender accounted for 50.5%, 39.2% were 6 years of age, 54.5% had normal weight, and 51.5% had PON1 activity below the median (90.0, 15–30 U/mL). Genotype frequency was 54.6% (53/97), 31.0% (30/97), and 14.4% (14/97), respectively, for CT, CC, and TT, consistent with the Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium (p  =  0.22). In the regression analysis, the model that included sociodemographic variables as well as frequency of consumption of fruits, vegetables, legumes, dairy products, and beans estimated a variability of 14.8% in PON1 activity combined with the PON1 C(‐107)T polymorphism.

Conclusions

During childhood, a good‐quality diet with greater inclusion of healthy foods was important to predict the activity of the cardioprotective enzyme PON1 combined with the C(‐107)T polymorphism of the PON1 gene.