Chronic consumption of a low-fat diet improves cardiometabolic risk factors according to the CLOCK gene in patients with coronary heart disease

Scope: Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the circadian locomotor output cycles kaput (CLOCK) gene have been associated with cardiometabolic conditions such as obesity and dyslipidemia. Our aim was to examine whether the chronic consumption of two healthy diets interacts with SNPs of the CLOCK gene in order to improve lipid metabolism and inflammation status in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD). Methods and results: The diets were low-fat (LF) diet and Mediterranean diet (MedDiet). CLOCK SNPs (rs1801260, rs3749474, rs4580704) and the study procedures were performed in 897 patients from the CORDIOPREV clinical trial. After 12 months of intervention, we found significant gene-diet interactions between rs4580704 SNP and the LF diet. Specifically, major allele carriers C/C displayed a greater decrease in high sensitivity C-reactive protein (p < 0.001) and a significant increase in HDL/apolipoprotein A1 ratio (p = 0.029) than minor G allele carriers (G/G + C/G). No other gene-diet interactions were observed in this research. Conclusion: These results suggest that rs4580704 SNP interacts with the LF diet improving inflammation status and dyslipidemia related with CHD. The shift toward "personalized nutrition" based on gene-nutrient interactions may be suitable for promoting cardiovascular health in patients with CHD.