cardiovascular disease

Biomarker May Predict CVD in Women

Circulating plasma branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs)—isoleucine, leucine, and valine—are known to be significant predictors of type 2 diabetes and, according to new study, may also be positively associated with incident cardiovascular disease (CVD) in women.

This finding emerged from a study of 27,041 women enrolled in the Women’s Health Study who did not have CVD at baseline blood collection. Mean follow-up lasted 18.6 years.
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Hazard ratios (HRs) for incident CVD—including myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, and coronary revascularization—were estimated using multivariable Cox regression models.

A total of 2207 confirmed CVD events occurred throughout follow-up. Ultimately, findings showed that total BCAAs were positively associated with CVD (per SD: HR 1.13) comparable to low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) with CVD (per SD: HR 1.12).

BCAA metabolism

In particular, BCAAs were found to be associated with coronary events (MI HR, 1.16; revascularization HR) and were borderline significantly associated with stroke (HR 1.07).

The researchers found that the association between BCAAs and CVD was especially prominent among women who developed type 2 diabetes before CVD (HR 1.20) compared with those without type 2 diabetes (HR 1.08).

In light of these findings, the researchers noted that “impaired BCAA metabolism may capture the long-term risk of the common cause underlying [type 2 diabetes] and CVD.”

They also observed that, while adjustment for LDL-C did not attenuate these findings, adjustment for hemoglobin A1c and insulin resistance eliminated the association between BCAAs and CVD, the researchers said.

—Christina Vogt

Reference:

Tobias DK, Lawler PR, Harada PH, et al. Circulating branched-chain amino acids and incident cardiovascular disease in a prospective cohort of US women. Circ Genom Precis Med. 2018;11(4). doi:10.1161/CIRCGEN.118.002157

 

SEE ALSO: EMPA-REG OUTCOME Trial: Empagliflozin Reduces CV Risk by 38% (Podcast)

Thomas Seck, MD, vice president of Clinical Development and Medical Affairs – Primary Care at Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., spoke with us about the results of the landmark EMPA-REG OUTCOME Trial and what they mean for the treatment of diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

For more podcasts, click here.