Saturated fat intake interacts with HDL‐c genes to influence plasma HDL‐c of Filipino women

Low HDL‐c is highly prevalent among Asian populations. We aimed to determine whether a HDL‐c gene score interacts with dietary intake of saturated fat, non‐saturated fat, and carbohydrates to influence fasting HDL‐c levels in Filipino women participating in the 2005 Cebu Longitudinal Health and Nutrition Survey ( n = 1,687, age =35.7–68.8 y). The gene score summed the number of effect alleles (range: 5–14) in 8 genes shown previously to be associated with higher HDL‐c in this sample. HDL‐c (mean = 41.0 mg/dL) was regressed on gene score, macronutrient intake, and the interaction of score with macronutrient, adjusting for age, physical activity and BMI. In a main effects model, gene score was positively related to HDL‐c (1.69 mg/dL per risk allele, 95% CI: 1.36–2.02; p = 0.00). Gene score significantly interacted with saturated fat intake ( p =0.03), but not non‐saturated fat or carbohydrate intake. Predicted HDL‐c levels did not differ between low and high saturated fat intake among women with a low gene score. In contrast, with a high gene score (=12), HDL‐c was 4 mg/dL higher when saturated fat was at the 15 th vs. the 85 th percentile of population intake (difference of 6 g/d). The more favorable HDL‐c levels seen in women with higher gene score and higher saturated fat intake may reflect the intake of coconut oil, the main source of saturated fat in the Filipino diet, which has been previously shown to relate to higher HDL‐c levels. Grant Funding Source : National Institutes of Health DK078150 , HL085144