Blood sugar and diabetes risk significantly increases due to amino acids, finds study

Blood sugar levels and diabetes risk significantly increased by 9 amino acids, finds a study.

A recent American Diabetic Association study has shown a significant association between 9 amino acids (AAs) and decreased insulin secretion and an increase in fasting or 2-hours blood sugar levels -- raising the risk for type 2 diabetes (T2D). These amino acids include phenylalanine, tryptophan, tyrosine, alanine, isoleucine, leucine, valine, aspartate, and glutamate.

The study, published in the journal Diabetes, further found that among these five amino acids tyrosine, alanine, isoleucine, aspartate, and glutamate were also found to be significantly associated with an increased risk of incident type 2 diabetes.

"Studies such as these are important, not only for furthering the understanding of type 2 diabetes physiology but also for helping clinicians determine which patients may be at higher risk for transitioning from prediabetes to T2D," write the authors.

This study is the first population-based large cohort to report that AAs are associated not only with insulin resistance but also with decreased insulin secretion and consequently raising blood sugar levels.

Several amino acids have been demonstrated to linked with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance. But no previous studies have investigated the association of AAs with insulin secretion in a longitudinal setting. The study, conducted by Jagadish Vangipurapu, Internal Medicine, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland, and colleagues included 5,181 participants of the cross-sectional METabolic Syndrome In Men (METSIM) study having metabolomics data on 20 AAs. A total of 4,851 had a 7.4-year follow-up visit.

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Key findings of the study include:

• Nine AAs (phenylalanine, tryptophan, tyrosine, alanine, isoleucine, leucine, valine, aspartate, and glutamate) were significantly associated with decreases in insulin secretion (disposition index) and the elevation of fasting or 2-h blood sugar levels.


• Five of these AAs (tyrosine, alanine, isoleucine, aspartate, and glutamate) were also found to be significantly associated with an increased risk of incident type 2 diabetes after adjustment for confounding factors.


• Glycine and glutamine were associated with a lower risk of T2D.

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"This novel study of a large population over time demonstrated a significant association between certain amino acids and an increased risk for insulin resistance and developing T2D," concluded the authors.

For detailed study log on to https://doi.org/10.2337/db18-1076