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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Cardiovasc. Med.
Sec. Sex and Gender in Cardiovascular Medicine
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fcvm.2024.1397023

Association between plasma Trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) and coronary heart disease: New insights on sex and age differences

Provisionally accepted
Yangyang Sun Yangyang Sun 1*Xipeng Lin Xipeng Lin 1Zhihao Liu Zhihao Liu 1Lihua Hu Lihua Hu 1Pengfei Sun Pengfei Sun 2Geng Shen Geng Shen 1Fangfang Fan Fangfang Fan 1Yan Zhang Yan Zhang 1Jianping Li Jianping Li 1*
  • 1 First Hospital, Peking University, Beijing, China
  • 2 Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Aim: Elevated plasma Trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) is related to atherosclerosis. Whether the relationship of TMAO and coronary heart disease (CHD) is influenced by sex or age is uncertain. We aim to explore the sex and age differences in the relationship between plasma TMAO and CHD risk and severity.A case-control study was conducted in patients undergoing elective coronary angiography. Matched by sex, age (± 2 years) and operation date (± 180 days), a total of 429 CHD case-control pairs were included. Plasma TMAO was quantified using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Logistic regression analyses were performed to evaluate the association between plasma TMAO and CHD risk and severity.The overall median (interquartile range) plasma TMAO level was 0.11 (0.06 -0.18) μg/mL. After stratification by sex and age, and adjustment for common CHD risk factors, the association between TMAO and CHD risk was significant in the older (≥ 65 years) male subgroup (OR = 1.57, 95% CI: 1.09 -2.28, P = 0.016), but not in other sex-age subgroups (all P > 0.05). The relationship of plasma TMAO and CHD risk was modified by age (adjusted P interaction = 0.001) in male individuals. Plasma TMAO was also associated with a higher risk of multi-vessel disease (MVD) in male CHD patients (OR = 1.65, 95% CI: 1.18 -2.32, P = 0.004), but not in females.Conclusions: Plasma TMAO is significantly positively associated with the risk and severity of CHD in Chinese men. Age has an interactive effect on the relationship between plasma TMAO and CHD risk in men. Our findings warrant further investigation.

    Keywords: Trimethylamine N-oxide, coronary heart disease, sex differences, age differences, Gut Microbiota

    Received: 06 Mar 2024; Accepted: 18 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Sun, Lin, Liu, Hu, Sun, Shen, Fan, Zhang and Li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Yangyang Sun, First Hospital, Peking University, Beijing, China
    Jianping Li, First Hospital, Peking University, Beijing, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.