Fathers’ diets impact the heart health of their daughters

Fathers with unhealthy, high-cholesterol diets can predispose their daughters to cardiovascular disease (CVD), according to a new study led by the University of California, Riverside.

Diets play a critical role in shaping overall health, and poor dietary habits – especially those high in cholesterol and saturated fats – have been linked to numerous chronic conditions.

The research demonstrates that unhealthy diets can carry profound consequences for future generations, particularly by increasing the risk of heart disease in offspring. The study is the first to demonstrate this effect, which seems to be exclusive to daughters.

Fathers’ diets alter sperm

Changcheng Zhou is a professor of biomedical sciences at UC Riverside and the study’s lead author.

“It had been previously thought that sperm contribute only their genome during fertilization,” said Zhou.

“However, recent studies by us and others have demonstrated that environmental exposures, including unhealthy diets, environmental toxicants, and stress, can alter the RNA in sperm to mediate intergenerational inheritance.”

Unhealthy diets and heart disease

CVD, the leading cause of death globally, impacts the heart and blood vessels – with conditions like hypertension, atherosclerosis, and heart attacks being primary contributors.

These conditions often develop silently over time, fueled by poor lifestyle choices, including unhealthy diets high in fats and cholesterol, which can lead to significant blockages in the arteries.

In 2022, nearly 703,000 people in the United States died from heart disease. This highlights the urgent need for better dietary awareness and prevention strategies.

The study sheds light on how fathers’ diets, specifically high-cholesterol intake, can have long-lasting effects on the health of their children.

The role of small RNA molecules in sperm

The researchers found that small RNA molecules in sperm are significantly altered by exposure to a high-cholesterol diet.

Small RNAs, which play a critical role in gene regulation, can be reshaped by paternal dietary habits, potentially setting off a chain reaction of changes in biological processes.

These modifications influence gene expression in embryonic stem cells, which can have lasting effects on the health of offspring.

The altered small RNAs increase the offspring’s vulnerability to conditions like atherosclerosis, a serious disease characterized by plaque buildup in arteries, which raises the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

Paternal health factors are often overlooked

Zhou further emphasized that paternal factors must be considered in chronic disease studies, as research has historically centered on maternal influences, leaving the impact of fathers’ health on future generations underexplored.

“Men who plan to have children should consider eating a healthy, low-cholesterol diet and reducing their own CVD risk factors,” said Zhou. “These factors appear to affect their sperm in influencing the health of their female offspring.”

Gender-specific findings in the lab

According to the researchers, it is unclear why only female offspring are affected with cardiovascular disease.

In laboratory experiments, genetically engineered mice were fed a high-cholesterol diet. This caused the mice to develop hyperlipidemia, a disorder that can lead to heart disease and stroke.

These male mice were then mated with female mice that were on low-cholesterol diet. Even though the offspring were also fed a low-cholesterol diet, he females were found to have double or triple the risk of atherosclerosis.

The team, including researchers Rebecca Hernandez, Xiuchun Li, Junchao Shi, and Tejasvi R. Dave, will continue their investigations to better understand the gender-specific effects observed.

Further implications of the study

The research opens the door to further investigations into the role of paternal health in shaping future generations’ risk of chronic diseases, particularly cardiovascular disease.

“Our study contributes to understanding the etiology of chronic diseases originating from parental exposures,” Zhou concluded. “We hope our findings stimulate investigations of the impact of paternal exposures on offspring cardiovascular health in humans.”

The findings of this study highlight the lasting consequences that unhealthy diets can have, not just on the individual but across generations.

With cardiovascular disease continuing to be a major global health concern, these results emphasize the importance of early intervention and dietary changes, particularly for those planning to have children.

The study is published in the journal JCI Insight.

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