The association between benzo[a]pyrene-DNA adducts and body mass index, calorie intake and physical activity

Prior work suggests that body size and fat content may influence carcinogen-DNA adduct levels measured in white blood cells. Here we consider energy balance more broadly by assessing the impact of body mass index (BMI), physical activity and calorie intake on the presence of benzo[a]pyrene-DNA (BP-DNA) adducts in white blood cell DNA. Our cross-sectional study employed subjects from a separately conducted intervention trial. Physical activity and food intake data were collected at 12 and 15 months of follow-up, respectively. BP-DNA adducts were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) in white blood cell samples collected at 12 months of follow-up. Complete data on all variables were available from 143 subjects. Logistic regression showed that BMI was inversely associated with the presence of detectable adducts (OR = 0.90, p = 0.02), and that hours of moderate-intensity physical activity were positively associated with the presence of detectable adducts (OR = 1.04, p = 0.04). These results provide further evidence that body fat content influences carcinogen-DNA adduct levels, probably by altering the distribution of the lipophilic parent compound.