The mechanisms underlying the various acute effects of caffeine are not clear. Some of the physiological effects of caffeine may be mediated through increased catecholamines, which are metabolized by catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT). A Val158Met polymorphism in COMT affects enzyme activity with Val/Val homozygotes having a 3–4-fold greater activity than Met/Met homozygotes.
Objective:
To determine whether the self-reported acute effects of caffeine are associated with the COMT Val158Met polymorphism (rs4680).
Methods:
Subjects were men (n=344) and women (n=801) aged 20–29 years who were participants of the Toronto Nutrigenomics and Health Study. Acute effects were assessed by questionnaire, and caffeine intake was assessed using a semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated to determine if the likelihood of reporting an acute effect was associated with COMT genotype.
Results:
Among individuals consuming more than 200 mg/day of caffeine, COMT genotype was associated with self-reported increased heart rate. Compared to the Val/Val genotype, the adjusted OR (95% CI) of reporting increased heart rate for the Val/Met and the Met/Met genotypes was 1.43 (0.64, 3.20) and 2.98 (1.04, 8.51), respectively.
Conclusions:
These findings show that the Met/Met genotype, conferring slow COMT activity, is associated with self-reported increased heart rate after caffeine intake. This observation suggests that caffeine may increase heart rate in a genetic subset of the population who have an impaired ability to breakdown catecholamines such as epinephrine and norepinephrine.
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