Related Experiment Videos
Arginine intake and risk of coronary heart disease mortality in elderly men
C M Oomen1, M J van Erk, E J Feskens
1Department of Chronic Diseases Epidemiology, National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, the Netherlands. claudia.oomen@rivm.nl
Insights
Dietary intake of the amino acid arginine did not reduce coronary heart disease risk in elderly men. This study found no association between arginine consumption and reduced mortality from heart disease.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Science
- Nutritional Epidemiology
Background:
- Atherosclerosis involves impaired endothelial function and increased platelet activation.
- Arginine, a precursor to nitric oxide (NO), was hypothesized to mitigate these effects.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between dietary arginine intake and coronary heart disease (CHD) risk in elderly men.
Main Methods:
- A population-based cohort study of 806 elderly men (aged 64-84) followed for 10 years.
- Dietary intake assessed using the cross-check dietary history method.
- CHD mortality as the primary outcome, with statistical adjustments for various risk factors.
Main Results:
- No significant association was found between arginine intake and CHD mortality.
- Relative risks for medium and highest tertiles of intake were not significantly different from the lowest tertile, even after extensive adjustments.
- After full adjustment, relative risks for medium and highest tertiles were 1.86 and 1.56, respectively, with no significant trend.
Conclusions:
- The study does not support the hypothesis that dietary arginine intake reduces the risk of coronary heart disease mortality.
- Findings suggest arginine consumption may not be a protective factor against CHD in this elderly male population.
Abstract:
From experimental studies, the hypothesis is derived that the amino acid arginine, the precursor of NO, could restore the impaired endothelial function and increased platelet activation observed in atherosclerosis. We investigated whether dietary intake of arginine is associated with reduced coronary heart disease risk in elderly persons. The study population consisted of 806 men aged 64 to 84 years at baseline who participated in the Zutphen Elderly Study, a population-based cohort followed up for 10 years. Information about habitual food consumption was collected by use of the cross-check dietary history method. Ninety (11.2%) of the 806 men died from coronary heart disease. Mean+/-SD baseline arginine intake was 4. 35+/-1.07 g/d. Meat was the main source of arginine intake (37.1%), followed by bread (13.1%) and milk and milk products (12.1%). Arginine intake was not associated with coronary heart disease mortality. After adjustment for age, the relative risk (RR) for the medium tertile of arginine intake was 0.72 (95% CI 0.44 to 1.18), and the RR for the highest tertile was 0.71 (95% CI 0.43 to 1.19, P: for trend=0.19) compared with the lowest tertile of arginine intake. After additional adjustment for history of coronary heart disease and diabetes mellitus, energy intake, body mass index, smoking habit, physical activity, and other relevant dietary and biological risk factors, the RR was 1.86 (95% CI 1.06 to 3.27) for the medium intake and 1.56 (95% CI 0.83 to 2.93) for the highest intake (P: for trend=0.17). These results do not support the hypothesis that dietary arginine intake lowers the risk of coronary heart disease mortality.