Interaction Between Dietary Choline Intake During Pregnancy and Choline-metabolising Genetic Polymorphisms on the Risk of Preterm Birth (P11-037-19)

Abstract

Objectives: This case-control study aims to investigate the interaction between choline intake during pregnancy and genetic polymorphisms in choline dehydrogenase (CHDH) and betainehomocysteine methyltransferase (BHMT) on preterm birth risk among Chinese women. Method(s): 129 women with preterm delivery and 141 women with full-term delivery were recruited at Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai. Dietary choline intake during pregnancy was assessed by a validated food frequency questionnaire, genotyping was conducted for CHDH (G233C, rs12676) and BHMT (G742A, rs3733890), and plasma homocysteine (Hcy) level was assayed. Result(s): CHDH rs12676 or BHMT rs3733890 alone was not correlated with the incident preterm birth. However, significant interactions were observed between maternal choline intake during pregnancy and CHDH rs12676 (p = 0.023) or BHMT rs373389 (p = 0.045) on preterm delivery risk after adjusting for multiple confounding variables. Plasma Hcy level was about 38 % higher in the case women carrying CC genotype of CHDH rs12676 who consumed less choline than the median, compared to the control women with GG genotype who had more choline intake than the median level (p = 0.006). Similarly, the case women carrying AA genotype of BHMT rs373389 who consumed less choline than the median showed about 21% higher Hcy levels, compared with the control women with GG genotype who had more choline intake than the median level (p = 0.015). Conclusion(s): Genetic polymorphism of CHDH rs12676 or BHMT rs3733890 may interact with maternal choline intake, which may modify preterm birth risk among Chinese women partially through the disturbance in choline metabolism.