Plasma metabolomic analysis indicates flavonoids and sorbic acid are associated with incident diabetes: A nested case-control study among Women's Interagency HIV Study participants

PLoS One. 2022 Jul 8;17(7):e0271207. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0271207. eCollection 2022.

Abstract

Introduction: Lifestyle improvements are key modifiable risk factors for Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) however specific influences of biologically active dietary metabolites remain unclear. Our objective was to compare non-targeted plasma metabolomic profiles of women with versus without confirmed incident DM. We focused on three lipid classes (fatty acyls, prenol lipids, polyketides).

Materials and methods: Fifty DM cases and 100 individually matched control participants (80% with human immunodeficiency virus [HIV]) were enrolled in a case-control study nested within the Women's Interagency HIV Study. Stored blood samples (1-2 years prior to DM diagnosis among cases; at the corresponding timepoint among matched controls) were assayed in triplicate for metabolomics. Time-of-flight liquid chromatography mass spectrometry with dual electrospray ionization modes was utilized. We considered 743 metabolomic features in a two-stage feature selection approach with conditional logistic regression models that accounted for matching strata.

Results: Seven features differed by DM case status (all false discovery rate-adjusted q<0.05). Three flavonoids (two flavanones, one isoflavone) were respectively associated with lower odds of DM (all q<0.05), and sorbic acid was associated with greater odds of DM (all q<0.05).

Conclusion: Flavonoids were associated with lower odds of incident DM while sorbic acid was associated with greater odds of incident DM.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Case-Control Studies
  • Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2* / complications
  • Female
  • Flavonoids
  • HIV Infections* / complications
  • HIV Infections* / epidemiology
  • Humans
  • Risk Factors
  • Sorbic Acid

Substances

  • Flavonoids
  • Sorbic Acid