We analyzed whether global and inflammatory genes methylation can be early predictors of metabolic changes and their associations with the diet, in a cross-sectional study (n = 40). Higher global methylation was associated to adiposity, insulin resistance, and lower quality of the diet. Methylation of IL-6, SERPINE1 and CRP genes was related to adiposity traits and macronutrients intake. SERPINE1 hypermethylation was also related to some metabolic alterations. CRP methylation was a better predictor of insulin resistance than CRP plasma concentrations. Global and inflammatory gene promoter hypermethylation can be good early biomarkers of adiposity and metabolic changes and are associated to the quality of the diet.
Keywords: Global DNA methylation; IL-6; SERPINE1; healthy eating index; metabolic syndrome.