Serum tyrosine increases all-cause mortality in an older population

Amino acids play crucial roles in metabolic and cardiovascular diseases, especially branched-chain and aromatic amino acids, but their association with mortality remains understudied and inconclusive. This study explored the potential correlation between serum amino acids levels (including leucine(Leu), isoleucine(Ile), valine(Val), phenylalanine(Phe), and tyrosine (Tyr) and all-cause or cardiovascular deaths in an older population.

This study involved 1,238 older people selected from the Huai'an Diabetes Prevention Program aged ≥ 60 years. Baseline serum levels of five amino acids (Leu, Ile, Val, Phe and Tyr) were measured. Participants were followed for 9 years. Cox regression analysis and Fine-Gray subdistribution hazard analysis were employed to assess the association between amino acids with all-cause or cardiovascular mortality. The prognostic value of amino acids was further assessed using the C index and Net Reclassification Improvement (NRI).

1 During the 9-year follow-up, 69 deaths occurred, including 32 from cardiovascular causes. Preliminary univariable analyses showed that only serum Tyr levels were associated with the risk of all-cause mortality among the five amino acids (per 1-μg/mL increase in Tyr, HR = 1.08, 95% CI = 1.01-1.17). 2 After adjustment for potential confounders, the HR and 95% CI of all-cause mortality for serum Tyr levels from the lowest to the highest quartile was 1.00 (reference), 1.31 (0.59-2.92), 2.17 (1.23-4.60), and 2.18 (1.01-4.71), respectively. 3 Compared with the traditional risk predictive model (C index = 0.773), adding serum Tyr levels increased the C index (C index = 0.787) and NRI (NRI = 0.267) for predicting all-cause mortality.

Elevated serum tyrosine levels are independently associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality, and may serve as a valuable biomarker for mortality risk prediction in Chinese older adults.