There is a complex association among genetic, metabolic, and environmental factors in determining the risk of
metabolic syndrome (MetS). The aim of this study was to investigate the role of the association between the dietary intake of
iron,
copper,
zinc,
manganese,
selenium, and
iodine (assessed by 24 recall) with
vascular endothelial growth factor variants (rs6921438, rs4416670, rs6993770, and rs10738760), on the risk of MetS. Two-hundred and forty-eight individuals with MetS and 100 individuals without MetS were recruited. The dietary intake and the daily average of energy and nutrient intake were obtained by a questionnaire and quantified using Diet Plan 6 software.
DNA was extracted from
EDTA anticoagulated whole blood. The SNPs were assessed using using a Sequenom
iPLEX Gold assay. Data analysis was undertaken using the Student t test, χ2 test and logistic regression using SPSS 11.5 software. There was a significant association between low
dietary iron intake and rs6993770 (β = .10, P < .05), and a low dietary
zinc and a high
manganese intake with rs6921438 in relation to the presence of MetS (β = -.17, P < .05, β = -.30, P < .05, respectively). Our data showed the association of rs6993770 with
iron intake and rs6921438 with
zinc and
manganese intake, indicating further investigation in a larger population to evaluate their values.