(P10-031-23) Taste-Related Genes Are Differentially Associated With Food Group Intakes Among Dutch Adults: A Cross-Sectional Analysis in the Alpha Omega Cohort

Objectives: Emerging evidence indicates a genetic component to food choices, stemming in part from variants (SNPs) in genes related to taste perception. Based on our prior work reporting novel taste-related gene-diet associations among US adults, our present objective was to determine the associations of taste-related genes, summarized as polygenic taste scores, with food group intakes among Dutch adults who had a prior myocardial infarction (MI).

Methods: Cross-sectional analyses were conducted among 4,204 Dutch adults in the Alpha Omega Cohort (age range: 60-80 y; 21% female). Food group intakes (servings/week [sev/wk]) were estimated from food frequency questionnaires. Taste-related genes were identified from prior genome-wide association studies for taste perception and used to derive weighted polygenic taste scores. Higher scores indicated more alleles for higher taste perception. Gene-diet associations were assessed via generalized linear models adjusting for behavioral and lifestyle confounders and accounting for multiple comparisons.

Results: Five polygenic taste scores were derived capturing variability in 39 taste-related SNPs (22 sweet, 9 bitter, 4 umami, 2 sour, 2 salt). After confounder adjustment, the salt polygenic taste score was positively associated with nut intake (Β [95% CI] = 0.10 [0.04, 0.15]; FDR = 0.017), while the sour polygenic taste score was inversely associated with whole grain intake (-0.62 [-1.05, -0.20]; FDR = 0.051). Exploratory analyses at the SNP-level identified several robust (FDR < 0.05) and suggestive (FDR < 0.20) gene-diet associations between bitter-related SNPs with higher tea and lower coffee and vegetable intake; umami-related SNPs with higher whole and lower refined grain intake; and sweet-related SNPs with higher fruit and lower tea intake. For example, each A allele for bitter-related SNP rs1726866 (G > A; A = higher perception) was associated with 1.02 (95% CI: 0.44, 1.61) more sev/wk of tea (FDR < 0.001) and 1.03 (95% CI: -1.69, -0.37) fewer sev/wk of coffee (FDR = 0.017).

Conclusions: Taste-related genes for all 5 tastes were differentially associated with food group intakes among Dutch adults with a prior MI, suggesting a benefit of leveraging knowledge of taste-related genes when providing precision nutrition guidance to Dutch cardiac patients.

Funding Sources: USDA Agreement 58-8050-9-004 (AHL)