Amino acid differences between diabetic older adults and non-diabetic older adults and their associations with cardiovascular function.

Abstract Background Ageing and insulin resistant states such as diabetes mellitus frequently coexist and increase the risk of cardiovascular disease development among older adults. Here we investigate metabolic differences in amino acid profiles between ageing and diabetes mellitus, and their associations with cardiovascular function. Methods In a group of community older adults we performed echocardiography, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging as well as cross sectional and longitudinal metabolomics profiling based on current and archived sera obtained fifteen years prior to examination. Results We studied a total of 515 participants (women 50%, n = 255) with a mean age 73 (SD = 4.3) years. Diabetics had higher alanine (562 vs 448, p  Conclusion Markers of branched chain amino acids and one ‑carbon metabolism pathways were associated with changes in cardiovascular function in older adults regardless of diabetes status. However, nitrogen handling pathways were specifically altered among older adults with diabetes. These findings broaden our understanding into specific amino acid pathways that may be altered between diabetic and non-diabetic older adults, and their relevance to cardiovascular function in ageing. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02791139