Atti del 52° Congresso Nazionale: Società Italiana di Igiene, Medicina Preventiva e Sanità Pubblica (SItI)

We observed that intake of wholemeal bread, cereals, olive oil, eggs, fish, fruit, vegetables, legumes, soup, potatoes, fries, rice, pasta and pizza positively correlated with LINE-1 methylation. By contrast, butter and margarine, vegetable oil, dipping sauces, and coffee negatively correlated with LINE-1 methylation. Next, we demonstrated that adherence to the prudent dietary pattern -characterized by high intake of potatoes, cooked and raw vegetables, legumes, soup and fish -was positively associated with LI-NE-1 methylation. Particularly, women in the 3rd tertile exhibited higher LINE-1 methylation level than those in the 1st tertile (median = 66.7% 5mC; IQR = 4.67% 5mC vs median = 63.1% 5mC; IQR = 12.3% 5mC; p < 0.001). Linear regression confirmed that women in the 3 rd tertile had higher LINE-1 methylation that those in the 1st tertile (β = 1.765; SE = 0.728; p = 0.016), after adjusting for age, educational level, use of folic acid supplement and total energy intake. By contrast, no differences in LINE-1 methylation across tertiles of adherence to the western dietary pattern were evident.