The single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) rs3808607, rs2072183, rs2032582, and rs1761667 are associated with coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) bioavailability in women after long-term CoQ10 supplementation. However, the beneficial aspects of the association between these SNPs and CoQ10 supplementation remain unknown. We investigated their relationship using the subjective quality of life score SF-36 by reanalyzing previous data from 92 study participants who were receiving ubiquinol (a reduced form of CoQ10) supplementation for 1 year. Two-way repeated-measures analysis of variance revealed a significant interaction between rs1761667 and the SF-36 scores of role physical (p = 0.016) and mental health (p = 0.017) in women. Subgrouping of participants based on the above four SNPs revealed significant interactions between these SNPs and the SF-36 scores of general health (p = 0.045), role emotional (p = 0.008), and mental health (p = 0.019) and increased serum CoQ10 levels (p = 0.008), suggesting that the benefits of CoQ10 supplementation, especially in terms of psychological parameters, are genotype-dependent in women. However, significant interactions were not observed in men. Therefore, inclusion of SNP subgrouping information in clinical trials of CoQ10 supplementation may provide conclusive evidence supporting other beneficial health effects exerted by the association between these SNPs and CoQ10 on women.
Keywords: Medical Outcome Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36); cholesterol; coenzyme Q10; single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs).