The associations between dietary choline, genetics and anxiety/depression

Choline, previously considered to be a vitamin, is an essential nutrient involved in a plethora of biological pathways. Choline status is thought to be associated with depression and anxiety, however, the lack of evidence regarding the exact mechanism of its action warrants further investigation. This study aims to explore the associations between dietary choline and depression and anxiety in healthy individuals and how these may differ according to genetics, specifically Phosphatidylethanolamine N-Methyltransferase gene involved in endogenous and exogenous choline metabolism. Establishing these associations could reinforce the need for future intervention trials that could in turn establish causality and determine the mechanistic effects of dietary choline and the PEMT gene activity on depression/anxiety

Inclusion Criteria:

• Overall healthy males
• pre-menopausal females of 18-50 years of age.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Individuals with a current clinical diagnosis of anxiety and depression
• pregnant or lactating
• post-menopausal women
• individuals suffering with chronic disease (cardiovascular disease, type-2 diabetes mellitus and cancer)
• individuals using choline, lecithin or soy supplements,
• obese individuals with a Body Mass Index (BMI) >30 kg/m2.

To be able to detect an association between choline and depression/anxiety required number of participants is 40. However, to reach the adequate balance between groups of people that have the PEMT genetic variant and the ones that do not have it, 80 will be recruited. This is because the PEMT variant of interest is present in 50% of the population