title: Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) polymorphism (C677T) in relation to homocysteine concentration in overweight and obese Thais.
abstract: We analyzed the association between MTHFR (C677T) gene polymorphism with serum concentrations of homocysteine, folate, and vitamin B12 in 37 male and 112 female overweight/ obese Thai volunteers (BMI > or = 25.00 kg/m2), and compared them with 23 male and 90 female control subjects (BMI = 18.5-24.99 kg/m2). Statistically significant higher levels of serum homocysteine were found in the overweight/obese subjects than the control subjects (p < 0.05). Serum folic acid levels in the overweight/obese subjects were significantly lower than the control subjects (p < 0.05). When the data were grouped according to homocysteine concentration and MTHFR gene polymorphism, there were significantly higher homocysteine concentrations in the overweight/obese subjects than the control subjects in wild type gene polymorphism (CC) in the hyperhomocysteine group (homocysteine >10.0 mmol/l) (p < 0.05), but in genotype polymorphism (CC, CT, TT) there were lower folic acid and vitamin B12 concentrations in the overweight/obese subjects than in the control subjects. In the hyperhomocysteine groups, there was no significant difference in the frequencies of MTHFR (C677T) gene polymorphism between the overweight/obese subjects and the control subjects. Folic acid and gene polymorphism were found to be significantly related to the overweight/ obese and control groups in logistic regression analysis (p < 0.05). The results support the supposition that folic acid is more important than vitamin B12.
authors.affiliation: Department of Tropical Nutrition and Food Science, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand.
authors.forename: Kittisak
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Thawnashom
authors.forename: Rungsunn
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tungtrongchitr
authors.forename: Songsak
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Petmitr
authors.forename: Praneet
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pongpaew
authors.forename: Benjaluck
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Phonrat
authors.forename: Anchalee
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tungtrongchitr
authors.forename: Frank Peter
authors.initials: FP
authors.lastname: Schelp
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001835:Body Weight; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D016231:Fluorescence Polarization Immunoassay; D005492:Folic Acid / Q000097:blood; D006710:Homocysteine / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D042965:Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase (NADPH2) / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000097:blood / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics*; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D013785:Thailand; D014805:Vitamin B 12 / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D006710:Homocysteine; D005492:Folic Acid; D042965:Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase (NADPH2); D014805:Vitamin B 12