ABSTRACT
Background: The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is active in brain regions involved in stress, food intake, and emotional regulation. The CB1 receptor and the fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) enzyme regulate the ECS. Genetic variants in the FAAH gene (rs324420) and in the CNR1 gene (rs1049353) have been involved in both chronic stress and obesity. As a maladaptive strategy to evade the stress, three dysfunctional eating patterns may appear: cognitive restriction, disinhibition, and emotional eating. Aim: To evaluate the association of variants rs324420 in the FAAH gene and rs1049353 in the CNR1 gene with perceived stress, dysfunctional eating patterns, and anthropometric and body composition variables. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 189 participants from western Mexico. The Spanish version of the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire and the Perceived Stress Scale were applied. Genotyping was performed with TaqMan® probes. Results: It was found that subjects with CA/AA genotypes in FAAH had a higher risk of presenting high scores in stress perception than CC genotype carriers (odds ratio [OR] 1.85, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.007-3.339; p = 0.048); in addition, the CC genotype of this genetic variant was related to higher body weight and body fat, but no association was found with dysfunctional eating patterns. As for the CNR1 single-nucleotide polymorphism, this variant showed no significant association with stress perception scores, but subjects with GA/AA genotypes in CNR1 had a lower risk of presenting high scores of restriction in food intake compared with GG genotype carriers (OR 0.11, 95% CI 0.046-0.322; p < 0.001). Therefore, this study suggests a differential role of the ECS genes FAAH and CNR1 in perceived stress and dysfunctional eating patterns, respectively. Further studies in other populations are required.
ABSTRACT
Dysfunctional eating patterns include alterations in experiencing and expressing hunger, appetite, and satiety, which may lead to eating disorders or obesity in the long term. Alterations in hormones such as ghrelin have been suggested to influence emotional eating in women with obesity. Ghrelin-reactive autoantibodies (autoAbs) are present both in healthy individuals and those with eating disorders and have been suggested to protect the hormone from degradation and preserve its functional activity. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between IgG ghrelin-reactive autoAbs with dysfunctional eating patterns, subjective perception of stress, and body composition parameters in young women. This cross-sectional study included 82 women (age 21±2 years) classified according to body fat percentage. Dysfunctional eating patterns were measured with the Spanish version of the Three-factor Eating Questionnaire-R18, and perceived stress was measured with the Spanish version of the Perceived Stress Scale - 10. A validated in-house enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was performed to measure IgG ghrelin-reactive autoAbs in its free, total, and immune complex fractions. Free IgG ghrelin-reactive autoAbs were positively correlated with weight, BMI, body fat percentage, waist, and hip circumference in women with very high body fat percentage. In this group, a negative correlation was observed between ghrelin immune complexes and uncontrolled eating. This exploratory research shows that IgG ghrelin-reactive autoAbs have a potential role in altered body composition parameters and appetite expression, such as uncontrolled eating in women with very high body fat. Further studies are required to clarify the role of IgG autoAbs in eating behavior.
