Diet and exercise changes following direct-to-consumer personal genomic testing

Background: The impacts of direct-to-consumer personal genomic testing (PGT) on health behaviors such as diet and exercise are poorly understood. Our investigation aimed to evaluate diet and exercise changes following PGT and to determine if changes were associated with genetic test results obtained from PGT. Methods: Customers of 23andMe and Pathway Genomics completed a web-based survey prior to receiving PGT results (baseline) and 6 months post-results. Fruit and vegetable intake (servings/day), and light, vigorous and strength exercise frequency (days/week) were assessed. Changes in diet and exercise were examined using paired t-tests and linear regressions. Additional analyses examined whether outcomes differed by baseline self-reported health (SRH) or content of PGT results. Results: Longitudinal data were available for 1,002 participants. Significant increases were observed for vegetable intake (mean Δ = 0.11 (95% CI = 0.05, 0.17), p = 0.0003) and strength exercise (Δ = 0.14 (0.03, 0.25), p = 0.0153). When stratified by SRH, significant increases were observed for all outcomes among lower SRH participants: fruit intake, Δ = 0.11 (0.02, 0.21), p = 0.0148; vegetable intake, Δ = 0.16 (0.07, 0.25), p = 0.0005; light exercise, Δ = 0.25 (0.03, 0.47), p = 0.0263; vigorous exercise, Δ = 0.23 (0.06, 0.41), p = 0.0097; strength exercise, Δ = 0.19 (0.01, 0.37), p = 0.0369. A significant change among higher SRH participants was only observed for light exercise, and in the opposite direction: Δ = -0.2468 (-0.06, -0.44), p = 0.0111. Genetic results were not consistently associated with any diet or exercise changes. Conclusions: The experience of PGT was associated with modest, mostly positive changes in diet and exercise. Associations were independent of genetic results from PGT

TAS2R38 haplotypes, COVID-19 infection, and symptomatology: a cross-sectional analysis of data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging

Abstract The TAS2R38 gene is well known for its function in bitter taste sensitivity, but evidence also suggests a role in innate immunity. TAS2R38 may be relevant in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), but research findings are inconsistent. The objective of this study was to explore whether common TAS2R38 haplotypes are associated with COVID-19 infection and symptomatology in the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA). Data from the CLSA COVID-19 Questionnaire and Seroprevalence sub-studies were utilized with CLSA genetic data for common TAS2R38 haplotypes related to bitter taste sensitivity. Haplotypes were categorized into three diplotype groups: [P]AV homozygotes, [P]AV/[A]VI heterozygotes, and [A]VI homozygotes. No significant differences were observed between diplotypes and COVID-19 infection frequency. Among self-reported COVID-19 cases (n = 76), and in uncorrected exploratory analyses, heterozygotes were less likely to report experiencing sinus pain compared to [P]AV homozygotes. Among seroprevalence-confirmed cases (n = 177), [A]VI homozygotes were less likely to report experiencing a sore/scratchy throat compared to [P]AV homozygotes. However, both observations were non-significant upon correction for multiple testing. In this study, TAS2R38 haplotypes were not significantly associated with COVID-19 infection or symptomatology. Nevertheless, in light of some exploratory patterns and conflicting evidence, additional research is warranted to evaluate links between TAS2R38 and innate immunity

A randomized trial of genetic information for personalized nutrition

Abstract Personal genetic information has become increasingly accessible to the public as a result of direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic tests; however, concerns have been raised over their value and potential risks. We compared the effects of providing genotype-based dietary advice with general recommendations on behavioral outcomes using a randomized controlled study. Participants were men and women from the Toronto Nutrigenomics and Health Study between the ages of 20–35 years (n = 149) who completed a survey to assess their awareness of DTC genetic tests and nutrigenomics, as well as potential motivations for undergoing genetic testing. Participants were then randomized into an intervention (I) or control (C) group and were given either genotype-based personalized dietary advice or general dietary advice, respectively. A second survey was administered to assess the participants’ opinions of the dietary reports they received. A greater proportion of participants in the intervention group agreed that they understood the dietary advice they were given (93% (I) vs. 78% (C); p = 0.009). Participants in the intervention group were more likely to agree that the dietary recommendations they received would be useful when considering their diet (88% (I) vs. 72% (C); p = 0.02) and wanted to know more about the recommendations (95% (I) vs. 76% (C); p < 0.0001). Only 9% of participants in the intervention group reported feeling uneasy about learning their genetic information. These findings suggest that individuals find dietary recommendations based on genetics more understandable and more useful than general dietary advice. Very few feel uneasy about receiving their genetic information that relates to personalized nutrition

Disclosure of genetic information and change in dietary intake: a randomized controlled trial.

Proponents of consumer genetic tests claim that the information can positively impact health behaviors and aid in chronic disease prevention. However, the effects of disclosing genetic information on dietary intake behavior are not clear.A double-blinded, parallel group, 2:1 online randomized controlled trial was conducted to determine the short- and long-term effects of disclosing nutrition-related genetic information for personalized nutrition on dietary intakes of caffeine, vitamin C, added sugars, and sodium. Participants were healthy men and women aged 20-35 years (n = 138). The intervention group (n = 92) received personalized DNA-based dietary advice for 12-months and the control group (n = 46) received general dietary recommendations with no genetic information for 12-months. Food frequency questionnaires were collected at baseline and 3- and 12-months after the intervention to assess dietary intakes. General linear models were used to compare changes in intakes between those receiving general dietary advice and those receiving DNA-based dietary advice.Compared to the control group, no significant changes to dietary intakes of the nutrients were observed at 3-months. At 12-months, participants in the intervention group who possessed a risk version of the ACE gene, and were advised to limit their sodium intake, significantly reduced their sodium intake (mg/day) compared to the control group (-287.3 ± 114.1 vs. 129.8 ± 118.2, p = 0.008). Those who had the non-risk version of ACE did not significantly change their sodium intake compared to the control group (12-months: -244.2 ± 150.2, p = 0.11). Among those with the risk version of the ACE gene, the proportion who met the targeted recommendation of 1500 mg/day increased from 19% at baseline to 34% after 12 months (p = 0.06).These findings demonstrate that disclosing genetic information for personalized nutrition results in greater changes in intake for some dietary components compared to general population-based dietary advice.ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01353014

Personal Genome Sequencing in Ostensibly Healthy Individuals and the PeopleSeq Consortium

Thousands of ostensibly healthy individuals have had their exome or genome sequenced, but a much smaller number of these individuals have received any personal genomic results from that sequencing. We term those projects in which ostensibly healthy participants can receive sequencing-derived genetic findings and may also have access to their genomic data as participatory predispositional personal genome sequencing (PPGS). Here we are focused on genome sequencing applied in a pre-symptomatic context and so define PPGS to exclude diagnostic genome sequencing intended to identify the molecular cause of suspected or diagnosed genetic disease. In this report we describe the design of completed and underway PPGS projects, briefly summarize the results reported to date and introduce the PeopleSeq Consortium, a newly formed collaboration of PPGS projects designed to collect much-needed longitudinal outcome data

Changes in dietary intake after 3-months and 12-months.

‡<p>p-values are for log-transformed values.</p><p>Results are adjusted for ethnicity.</p><p>Changes in dietary intake after 3-months and 12-months.</p

Consolidated standards of reporting trials (CONSORT) diagram and subject flow through the trial.

<p>Consolidated standards of reporting trials (CONSORT) diagram and subject flow through the trial.</p

Participant characteristics.

<p>^*Values shown are mean ± standard deviation.</p><p>Participant characteristics.</p

Prevalence of risk alleles in intervention group (n = 92) and associated risk.

a<p>RDA: Recommended dietary allowance.</p>b<p>UL: Tolerable upper intake level.</p>c<p>AI: Adequate intake.</p><p>Prevalence of risk alleles in intervention group (n = 92) and associated risk.</p

Adherence to a caloric budget and body weight change vary by season, gender, and BMI: An observational study of daily users of a mobile health app

Abstract Objective Self‐monitoring, one of the most important behaviors for successful weight loss, can be facilitated through mobile health applications (mHealth apps). Therefore, it is of interest to determine whether consistent users of these apps succeed in achieving their weight goals. This study used data from an mHealth app that enabled tracking of caloric intake, body weight, and physical activity and provided a caloric budget depending on weight goal. The primary objective was to evaluate adherence to caloric budget and body weight change among the most consistent (i.e., daily) trackers of caloric intake over a calendar year (n = 9372, 50% male). Methods Gender‐stratified linear mixed models were conducted to examine the effects of quarter of year (Q1–Q4 as season proxies) and body mass index (BMI) group (normal weight, overweight, obesity) on adherence to a caloric budget (kcal/day). Change in body weight was analyzed using a subset of users (n = 5808) who entered their weight in the app at least once per week, once per month, or once in Q1 and Q4. Physical activity entries were evaluated in exploratory analyses. Results Only users with obesity met their caloric budget in Q1. Deviation from budget increased for all groups from Q1 to Q2 (mean change[±standard error of the mean]: +23.7[±1.8] and +39.7[±2.2] kcal/day for female and male users, p < 0.001), was stable between Q2 and Q3, and fluctuated thereafter depending on gender and BMI, with greater deviation among males with overweight. Users with obesity with weight entries at least once per month lost the most weight (−6.1[±0.3] and −4.5[±0.3] kg for females and males, p < 0.001). Physical activity was highest in the summer months. Conclusions Among consistent calorie trackers, adherence to a caloric budget and body weight vary by season, gender, and BMI. Self‐monitoring of body weight in addition to calorie tracking may lead to improved weight loss outcomes