Plasma alkylresorcinols, biomarkers of whole-grain wheat and rye intake, and risk of type 2 diabetes in Scandinavian men and women

Am J Clin Nutr. 2016 Jul;104(1):88-96. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.116.133496. Epub 2016 Jun 8.

Abstract

Background: Studies that use dietary biomarkers to investigate the association between whole-grain intake and the risk of developing type 2 diabetes (T2D) are lacking.

Objective: We examined the association between plasma total alkylresorcinols and the alkylresorcinol C17:0-to-C21:0 ratio, biomarkers of whole-grain wheat and rye intake and relative whole-grain rye over whole-grain wheat intake, respectively, and the risk of T2D among Scandinavian men and women.

Design: A nested case-control study was established within the Northern Sweden Health and Disease Study and the Danish Diet, Cancer and Health cohort. Alkylresorcinol concentrations and the ratios of C17:0 to C21:0 were determined in plasma samples from 931 case-control pairs. ORs for T2D were calculated for plasma total alkylresorcinol concentration or C17:0-to-C21:0 ratio in quartiles with the use of conditional logistic regression that was adjusted for potential confounders. Additional analyses with whole-grain wheat and rye intake estimated from food-frequency questionnaires (FFQs) as exposures were also performed.

Results: The plasma total alkylresorcinol concentration was not associated with T2D risk (OR: 1.34; 95% CI: 0.95, 1.88) for the highest compared with the lowest quartiles in multivariable adjusted models. However, the C17:0-to-C21:0 ratio was associated with a lower diabetes risk (OR: 0.54; 95% CI: 0.37, 0.78). Analyses with whole-grain intake estimated from FFQs yielded similar results.

Conclusions: Total whole-grain wheat and rye intake, reflected by alkylresorcinols in plasma, was not associated with a lower risk of T2D in a population with high whole-grain intake. In contrast, the proportion of whole-grain rye to whole-grain wheat intake, indicated by the plasma C17:0-to-C21:0 ratio, was inversely associated with T2D. This suggests that whole-grain intake dominated by rye may be favorable for T2D prevention.

Keywords: alkylresorcinols; biomarker; nested case-control studies; type 2 diabetes; whole grains.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Biomarkers / blood
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / blood
  • Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / prevention & control*
  • Diet*
  • Dietary Fiber / therapeutic use
  • Feeding Behavior*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Logistic Models
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Odds Ratio
  • Resorcinols / blood*
  • Secale* / chemistry
  • Triticum* / chemistry
  • Whole Grains* / chemistry

Substances

  • Biomarkers
  • Dietary Fiber
  • Resorcinols