Abstract
Accompanied with nutrition transition, non-HDL-C levels of individuals in Asian countries has increased rapidly, which has caused the global epicenter of nonoptimal cholesterol to shift from Western countries to Asian countries. Thus, it is critical to underline major genetic and dietary determinants. In the current study of 2,330 Chinese individuals, genetic risk scores (GRSs) were calculated for total cholesterol (TC; GRS(TC), 57 SNPs), LDL-C (GRS(LDL-C), 45 SNPs), and HDL-C (GRS(HDL-C), 65 SNPs) based on SNPs from the Global Lipid Genetics Consortium study. Cholesterol intake was estimated by a 74-item food-frequency questionnaire. Associations of dietary cholesterol intake with plasma TC and LDL-C strengthened across quartiles of the GRS(TC) (effect sizes: -0.29, 0.34, 2.45, and 6.47; P(interaction) = 0.002) and GRS(LDL-C) (effect sizes: -1.35, 0.17, 5.45, and 6.07; P(interaction) = 0.001), respectively. Similar interactions with non-HDL-C were observed between dietary cholesterol and GRS(TC) (P(interaction) = 0.001) and GRS(LDL-C) (P(interaction) = 0.004). The adverse effects of GRS(TC) on TC (effect sizes across dietary cholesterol quartiles: 0.51, 0.82, 1.21, and 1.31; P(interaction) = 0.023) and GRS(LDL-C) on LDL-C (effect sizes across dietary cholesterol quartiles: 0.66, 0.52, 1.12, and 1.56; P(interaction) = 0.020) were more profound in those having higher cholesterol intake compared with those with lower intake. Our findings suggest significant interactions between genetic susceptibility and dietary cholesterol intake on plasma cholesterol profiles in a Chinese population.