Selected Health and Life Style Factors, CAG Status and Phenoconversion in Huntington’s Disease

In Huntington's disease, 60% of the variance in onset age is not explained by the huntingtin gene mutation. Huntington's disease onset was earlier in caffeine users.The objective of this study was to assess the relationship of lifestyle factors with motor phenoconversion among persons at risk for Huntington's disease.The associations of motor phenoconversion and exposure to selected lifestyle and health factors were examined using Cox proportional hazards analyses adjusted for age, gender, and repeat length.Of 247 participants, 36 (14.6%) phenoconverted. Mean follow-up was 4.2 years. Greater caffeinated soda use was associated with an increased hazard of phenoconversion: moderate use hazard ratio 2.26 (95% confidence interval 0.59-8.71), high use hazard ratio 4.05 (95% confidence interval 1.18-13.96).Huntington's disease onset was earlier among consumers of caffeinated soda, but not other caffeinated beverages. This finding may be spurious or not related to caffeine. © 2018 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.