METABOLIC SIGNATURES, LIFESTYLE FACTORS, AND TYPE 2 DIABETES IN A MULTIETHNIC ASIAN POPULATION

Abstract

Research has implicated modifiable lifestyle factors as risk factors for type 2 diabetes. Metabolomics has implicated amino acids as biomarkers of diabetes risk. The role of metabolites on diabetes outcomes in multiethnic and Asian populations remains unclear. We evaluate the associations between serum metabolites and incident diabetes in a multiethnic Asian population and measure their ability to predict diabetes outcomes; determine the influence of lifestyle factors on metabolite levels; and examine how metabolites mediate associations between lifestyle factors and incident diabetes. The branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), as well as alanine, are associated with higher diabetes risk and glycine with lower risk; these amino acids can improve prediction when added to a risk model; BCAAs are associated with higher consumption of protein, BCAAs and alanine with lower amounts of exercise and greater adiposity, and glycine with lower adiposity; and BCAAs, alanine, and glycine mediate the association between adiposity and incident diabetes.