Background and aim: Considering the limited data on the cardiovascular effects of dietary amino acid intakes, we assessed possible association of dietary amino acids with the risk of cardiovascular (CVD) events in a prospective population-based study.
Methods: Participants without CVD (n = 2369) were recruited from the Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study and were followed for a mean of 6.7 years. Dietary protein and amino acid intakes were assessed at baseline (2006-2008); demographic, lifestyle and biochemical variables were evaluated at baseline and follow-up examination (2012-2014). Multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression models, adjusted for potential confounders, were used to estimate risk of CVD across tertiles of dietary amino acids.
Results: Mean total protein intake was 76.9 ± 27.5 g/d, and dietary protein had no significant association with the risk of CVD (HR = 1.23, 95% CI = 0.65-2.31, and HR = 0.52, 95% CI = 0.19-1.41, in the second and third tertiles, respectively). After adjustment of potential confounders, the amino acid pattern with higher load of glycine, cysteine, arginine and tryptophan, was negatively associated with CVD (HR = 0.28, 95% CI = 0.09-0.88, P for trend = 0.08). Higher intake of sulfur-containing amino acids (cysteine and methionine), and potentially cardioprotective amino acids (arginine, cysteine, glutamic acid, glycine, histidine, leucine and tyrosine) corresponded to 73% (HR = 0.27, 95% CI = 0.09-0.86) and 74% (HR = 0.26, 95% CI = 0.09-0.78) decreased risk of CVD events. Higher intake of glutamic acid and proline (% of dietary total protein) increased the risk of CVD (HR = 1.30, 95% CI = 1.03-1.64, and HR = 1.33, 95% CI = 1.10-1.60, respectively).
Conclusion: These novel data provide evidence to suggest that amino acid composition of diet may modify the risk of CVD events.
Keywords: Cardiovascular disease; Dietary amino acids; Dietary protein.
Copyright © 2017 The Italian Society of Diabetology, the Italian Society for the Study of Atherosclerosis, the Italian Society of Human Nutrition, and the Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, Federico II University. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.