Interaction between gas cooking and GSTM1 null genotype in bronchial responsiveness: results from the European Community Respiratory Health Survey -- Amaral et al. -- Thorax

Interaction between gas cooking and GSTM1 null genotype in bronchial responsiveness: results from the European Community Respiratory Health Survey -- Amaral et al. -- Thorax

Thorax doi:10.1136/thoraxjnl-2013-204574

• Respiratory epidemiology

• Original article

Interaction between gas cooking and GSTM1 null genotype in bronchial responsiveness: results from the European Community Respiratory Health Survey

1. André F S Amaral1,2, 
2. Adaikalavan Ramasamy1, 
3. Francesc Castro-Giner3,4, 
4. Cosetta Minelli1,
5. Simone Accordini5, 
6. Inga-Cecilie Sørheim6, 
7. Isabelle Pin7,8, 
8. Manolis Kogevinas3, 
9. Rain Jõgi9,
10. David J Balding10, 
11. Dan Norbäck11, 
12. Giuseppe Verlato12, 
13. Mario Olivieri13,
14. Nicole Probst-Hensch14,15, 
15. Christer Janson16, 
16. Jan-Paul Zock3,17,18, 
17. Joachim Heinrich19,
18. Deborah L Jarvis1,2

+Author Affiliations

1. ¹Respiratory Epidemiology, Occupational Medicine and Public Health, National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College, London, UK
2. ²MRC-PHE Centre for Environment & Health, London, UK
3. ³Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL), Barcelona, Spain
4. ⁴Molecular and Population Genetics Laboratory, Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
5. ⁵Unit of Epidemiology and Medical Statistics, Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
6. ⁶University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
7. ⁷Pédiatrie, CHU de Grenoble, Institut Albert Bonniot, INSERM, Grenoble, France
8. ⁸Université Joseph Fourier, Grenoble, France
9. ⁹Tartu University Hospital, Lung Clinic, Tartu, Estonia
10. ¹⁰UCL Genetics Institute, University College London, London, UK
11. ¹¹Department of Medical Science, Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
12. ¹²Unit of Epidemiology & Medical Statistics, Dept. of Public Health & Community Medicine, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
13. ¹³Unit of Occupational Medicine, University Hospital of Verona, Verona, Italy
14. ¹⁴Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland
15. ¹⁵University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
16. ¹⁶Department of Medical Sciences, Respiratory Medicine and Allergology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
17. ¹⁷Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain
18. ¹⁸CIBER Epidemiologia y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Barcelona, Spain
19. ¹⁹Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Centre for Environmental Health, Institute of Epidemiology I, Neuherberg, Germany

1. Correspondence toDr André F S Amaral, Respiratory Epidemiology, Occupational Medicine and Public Health, National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, Emmanuel Kaye Building, 1B Manresa Road, London SW3 6LR (UK); a.amaral@imperial.ac.uk

• Received 25 September 2013
• Revised 11 February 2014
• Accepted 13 February 2014
• Published Online First 10 March 2014

Abstract

Background Increased bronchial responsiveness is characteristic of asthma. Gas cooking, which is a major indoor source of the highly oxidant nitrogen dioxide, has been associated with respiratory symptoms and reduced lung function. However, little is known about the effect of gas cooking on bronchial responsiveness and on how this relationship may be modified by variants in the genes GSTM1, GSTT1 and GSTP1, which influence antioxidant defences.

Methods The study was performed in subjects with forced expiratory volume in one second at least 70% of predicted who took part in the multicentre European Community Respiratory Health Survey, had bronchial responsiveness assessed by methacholine challenge and had been genotyped for GSTM1, GSTT1 and GSTP1-rs1695. Information on the use of gas for cooking was obtained from interviewer-led questionnaires. Effect modification by genotype on the association between the use of gas for cooking and bronchial responsiveness was assessed within each participating country, and estimates combined using meta-analysis.

Results Overall, gas cooking, as compared with cooking with electricity, was not associated with bronchial responsiveness (β=−0.08, 95% CI −0.40 to 0.25, p=0.648). However, GSTM1significantly modified this effect (β for interaction=−0.75, 95% CI −1.16 to −0.33, p=4×10⁻⁴), with GSTM1 null subjects showing more responsiveness if they cooked with gas. No effect modification by GSTT1 or GSTP1-rs1695 genotypes was observed.

Conclusions Increased bronchial responsiveness was associated with gas cooking among subjects with the GSTM1 null genotype. This may reflect the oxidant effects on the bronchi of exposure to nitrogen dioxide.

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