Tier 4 — mechanistic

Association between serum choline and betaine concentrations and longitudinal changes of body composition in community-dwelling middle-aged and older Chinese adults

Rong-Huan Zhong, Jing-An Long, Fan Wang, Si Chen, Yun Luo, Xiao-Ting Lu, Dinuerguli Yishake, Yu-Ming Chen, Ai-Ping Fang, Hui-Lian Zhu
Applied physiology, nutrition, and metabolism = Physiologie appliquee, nutrition et metabolisme 2020 45(7):737-744

Bibliography

PubMed
PMID 31917604
DOI
10.1139/apnm-2019-0778
Funding
Funding was not specified in the indexed record or accessible funding metadata.
Competing interests
A competing-interest declaration was not available in the indexed record or accessible disclosure metadata.

Study snapshot

DesignProspective cohort
ModelHuman participants
Sample1938 Chinese adults; 1384 women and 554 men
InterventionMeasured betaine status and related metabolites; no randomized TMG treatment
Duration3 years
EndpointsMuscle and fat change

What the study showed, in plain terms

Published in 2020, this source examined human observational and biomarker research. Design: Prospective cohort. Sample/model: 1938 Chinese adults; 1384 women and 554 men. The exposure or intervention was Measured betaine status and related metabolites; no randomized TMG treatment. Follow-up or treatment period: 3 years.

Higher baseline betaine was associated with more favorable body-composition changes, especially among men with relatively low initial levels.

Observational exposure analysis: residual confounding and reverse causation remain possible. Associations do not establish that betaine supplementation causes the same outcome.

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Key findings

  • Higher baseline betaine was associated with more favorable body-composition changes, especially among men with relatively low initial levels.
  • The recorded outcome domains were Muscle and fat change.
  • The exposure was observed rather than assigned as an isolated supplement treatment.

What this study can and cannot tell us

  • Observational exposure analysis: residual confounding and reverse causation remain possible. Associations do not establish that betaine supplementation causes the same outcome.
  • 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.

Related papers in the corpus

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Dietary Choline and Betaine and Risk of CVD: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Prospective Studies
Katie A Meyer et al. · Nutrients · 2017
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Dietary Choline and Betaine Are Not Associated With the Risk of Type 2 Diabetes. A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies
Elham Sharifi-Zahabi et al. · Journal of diabetes research · 2026
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Association of choline and betaine with the risk of cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality: Meta-analysis
Qinglin Yang et al. · European journal of clinical investigation · 2023
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Association of choline and betaine levels with cancer incidence and survival: A meta-analysis
Jiyoung Youn et al. · Clinical nutrition (Edinburgh, Scotland) · 2019

Editorial review

Reviewed by the Biohack Blueprint research team

Last verified

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