Tier 4 — mechanistic

Association of dietary choline and betaine intake with diabetes risk: a prospective cohort study from the China Health and Nutrition Survey

Shangling Wu, Peiyan Chen, Yi Sui, Peishan Tan, Jialin Lu, Wenting Wang, Wei Lu, Aiping Fang
Food & function 2026 17(6):2871-2883

Bibliography

PubMed
PMID 41773536
DOI
10.1039/d5fo02252e
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
Sample17156 Chinese adults without diabetes at baseline
InterventionHabitual dietary choline and/or betaine intake; no randomized TMG treatment
Duration1991-2015 survey follow-up
EndpointsType 2 diabetes incidence

What the study showed, in plain terms

Published in 2026, this source examined human observational and biomarker research. Design: Prospective cohort. Sample/model: 17156 Chinese adults without diabetes at baseline. The exposure or intervention was Habitual dietary choline and/or betaine intake; no randomized TMG treatment. Follow-up or treatment period: 1991-2015 survey follow-up.

Dietary betaine was not significantly associated with diabetes incidence; the nonlinear findings concerned choline.

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

  • Dietary betaine was not significantly associated with diabetes incidence; the nonlinear findings concerned choline.
  • The recorded outcome domains were Type 2 diabetes incidence.
  • 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 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
Tier 2
Metabolic Effects of Betaine: A Randomized Clinical Trial of Betaine Supplementation in Prediabetes
Ana Maria Grizales et al. · The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism · 2018
Tier 4
High Betaine, a Trimethylamine N-Oxide Related Metabolite, Is Prospectively Associated with Low Future Risk of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in the PREVEND Study
Erwin Garcia et al. · Journal of clinical medicine · 2019
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Associations between Serum Betaine, Methyl-Metabolizing Genetic Polymorphisms and Risk of Incident Type 2 Diabetes: A Prospective Cohort Study in Community-Dwelling Chinese Adults
Xiaoting Lu et al. · Nutrients · 2022
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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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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

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