The lactase persistence genotype is a protective factor for the metabolic syndrome

• Autor(a) principal: Friedrich,Deise C.
• Data de Publicação: 2014
• Outros Autores: Andrade,Fabiana M de, Fiegenbaum,Marilu, Almeida,Silvana de, Mattevi,Vanessa S., Callegari-Jacques,Sidia M., Hutz,Mara H.
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Genetics and Molecular Biology
• Texto Completo: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1415-47572014000500001
• topic: metabolic syndrome; lactase persistence; hypolactasia; lactose

The Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) is defined as a pattern of metabolic disturbances, which include central obesity, insulin resistance and hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia, and hypertension. Milk has been promoted as a healthy beverage that can improve the management of MetS. Most human adults, however, down-regulate the production of intestinal lactase after weaning. Lactase encoded by the LCT gene is necessary for lactose digestion. The -13910C > T SNP (rs4988235) is responsible for the lactase persistence phenotype in European populations. We herein investigated whether the lactase persistence genotype is also associated with the MetS in subjects from a Brazilian population of European descent. This study consisted of 334 individuals (average age of 41 years) genotyped by PCR-based methods for the -13910C > T SNP. Clinical data were assessed and the genotypes were tested for their independent contribution to the MetS using chi-square tests and multiple logistic regression analysis. Univariate analyses showed that hypertension and MetS prevalence were higher in individuals with the lactase non-persistence genotype than in lactase persistence subjects. Furthermore, lactase persistence was associated with a lower risk for MetS (OR = 0.467; 95% CI 0.264-0.824; p = 0.009). These results suggest that LCT genotypes can be a valuable tool for the management of MetS treatment.