Blood Metabolomic Signatures of 1-Hour Glucose Predict Cardiometabolic Risk.
Yoriko Heianza, Minghao Kou, Xuan Wang et al.
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In 30 seconds
This study examined whether fasting blood metabolomic signatures associated with 1-hour glucose during an oral glucose tolerance test also track glycemic changes and cardiometabolic risk. Analyses combined metabolomics from the OmniCarb trial, a dietary weight-loss intervention trial, and prospective data from the Nurses’ Health Study. The metabolomic risk score correlated with 1-hour glucose (Pearson r =0.8) and was associated with subsequent disease: women in the highest versus lowest 20% had a relative risk of 3.80 (95% CI, 2.22-6.51) for type 2 diabetes and 1.48 (95% CI, 1.04-2.12) for coronary heart disease.
Key findings
- The fasting metabolomic risk score predicted 1-hour glucose with Pearson r =0.8.
- In the Nurses’ Health Study, the highest versus lowest 20% of the score was associated with T2D risk of 3.80 (95% CI, 2.22-6.51).
- The corresponding relative risk for coronary heart disease was 1.48 (95% CI, 1.04-2.12).
- Diet-related changes in the score were associated with 2-year glucose-metabolism trajectories; circulating microRNAs were implicated in these changes.
Why it matters
The findings connect a fasting blood metabolomic profile with post-load glucose, changes in glucose metabolism, and later diabetes and coronary heart disease risk. This supports the potential value of studying metabolic signatures as markers of underlying cardiometabolic processes, while the reported associations do not establish that modifying the score itself prevents disease.
What to keep in mind
The evidence combines trial analyses with prospective observational data; the disease-risk associations in the Nurses’ Health Study do not establish causality.