Relationships between Maternal Folic Acid Supplementation and <i>GATA4</i> Gene Polymorphisms in Patients with Non-Chromosomal Congenital Heart Disease: A Hospital-Based Case–Control Study in China

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the relationships between maternal FA supplementation and nine single-nucleotide variants of the GATA4 gene in non-chromosomal CHD and further explore the gene–environment interactions associated with CHD. A total of 585 CHD patients and 600 controls were recruited in the case–control study. Maternal FA (FA-containing multivitamin) supplementation information and nine polymorphisms of the GATA4 gene were collected in this study. Adjusted ORs (aOR) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using proper statistical methods to analyze the relationships between the two main exposures of interest with respect to CHD. After adjusting the suspicious confounding factors, a significantly increased risk for CHD in offspring was found with non-FA supplementation before/during the pregnancy to CHD in offspring (aOR = 1.58, 95% CI: 1.01–2.48). We suggested taking FA supplementation before/during the pregnancy to prevent CHD in offspring, especially in the preconception period (aOR = 0.53, 95% CI: 0.32–0.90). The genetic results showed that the polymorphisms of rs4841588, rs12458, and rs904018 under specific genotypes and genetic models were significantly related to CHD. The gene–environment interaction between rs10108052 and FA supplementation before/during pregnancy could increase the risk of CHD (aOR = 5.38, 95% CI: 1.67–17.09, Pinteraction = 0.004). Relationships between maternal FA supplementation and specific polymorphisms of the GATA4 gene, as well as the gene–environment interaction, were significantly associated with CHD in offspring.

Keywords

• folic acid supplementation
• <i>GATA4</i>
• congenital heart disease
• gene–environment interactions