Tier 4 — mechanistic

Are dietary choline and betaine intakes determinants of total homocysteine concentration?

Jung Eun Lee, Paul F Jacques, Lauren Dougherty, Jacob Selhub, Edward Giovannucci, Steven H Zeisel, Eunyoung Cho
The American journal of clinical nutrition 2010 91(5):1303-1310

Bibliography

PubMed
PMID 20219967
PubMed Central
PMC2854904
DOI
10.3945/ajcn.2009.28456
Funding
Indexed grant support: N01-HC-25195 — NHLBI NIH HHS — United States; P30 ES010126 — NIEHS NIH HHS — United States; DK55865 — NIDDK NIH HHS — United States; CA125763 — NCI NIH HHS — United States; DK56350 — NIDDK NIH HHS — United States. The indexed list may not contain the complete funding declaration.
Competing interests
Reported disclosure: 3Supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (CA125763, DK55865, and DK56350); the Framingham Heart Study of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health (contract no. N01-HC-25195); and the US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service (no. 58-1950-7-707).

Study snapshot

DesignCross-sectional cohort analysis
ModelHuman participants
Sample2732 Framingham Offspring participants
InterventionDietary choline and betaine before and after folic-acid fortification
Duration1995-1998 examination with fasting and methionine-load testing
EndpointsFasting and post-load homocysteine; Folate status

What the study showed, in plain terms

Published in 2010, this source examined food sources, absorption and nutrient metabolism. Design: Cross-sectional cohort analysis. Sample/model: 2732 Framingham Offspring participants. The exposure or intervention was Dietary choline and betaine before and after folic-acid fortification. Follow-up or treatment period: 1995-1998 examination with fasting and methionine-load testing.

Higher intake was associated with lower homocysteine mainly at lower folate/B12 status; the association was absent after fortification.

Observational associations depend on nutritional context and do not establish a universal need for TMG.

Continue with TMG Data Center

Continue with Foods High in Betaine: TMG Amounts and Practical Portions

Key findings

  • Higher intake was associated with lower homocysteine mainly at lower folate/B12 status; the association was absent after fortification.
  • The recorded outcome domains were Fasting and post-load homocysteine; Folate status.
  • The exposure was observed rather than assigned as an isolated supplement treatment.

What this study can and cannot tell us

  • Observational associations depend on nutritional context and do not establish a universal need for TMG.
  • Confounding, dietary patterns, illness, medication use and reverse causation can influence an association. Blood or dietary concentrations do not identify the effect of starting a capsule.
  • Source basis: Indexed abstract and bibliographic data. Missing method details, funding information or participant denominators are not inferred.

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Dr. Khaled Mahmoud, MBBChCritical Care Medicine, Longevity Science & Editorial Direction Dr. Amr Yasser, PhDCardiometabolic, Musculoskeletal, Gut & Bioavailability Dr. Abdulla Mostafa, PhDCellular Senescence, Neurological, Mitochondrial & Brain-Ageing Biology