In this week's PLoS Medicine, James C. Engert of McGill University, Montreal, Canada, and Sonia S. Anand, of McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada and colleagues, on behalf of the INTERHEART investigators, show that the genetic risk for cardiovascular disease conferred by several single nucleotide polymorphisms in the Chromosome 9p21 region may be decreased in individuals who consume a diet high in raw fruits and vegetables. These findings suggest that gene–environment interactions are important drivers of cardiovascular disease and raise the possibility that a sound diet can mediate the effects of 9p21 SNPs.

The results of this study include analysis of two separate study populations comprising several ethnic groups, but will need to be confirmed in further large studies that have similar genetic and dietary information.