(P13-027-24) Dietary Protein and Amino Acid Intake Levels According to Cardiometabolic Risk Factors Among Korean Adults

Objectives: Protein quality has been known to influence cardiometabolic health, however evidence on the relationship between dietary amino acids and cardiometabolic risk factors is limited. Thus, this study aimed to examine the association between dietary protein (animal/plant) and amino acid intakes and cardiometabolic risk factors among Korean adults.

Methods: Using the 2016-2022 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data, 17,119 adults aged ≥ 30 years who participated in a 24-hour dietary recall and were not diagnosed with cardiometabolic diseases at the time of survey. Intakes of amino acids, including essential (EAA), branched-chain (BCAA), and nonessential amino acids (NEAA), were estimated by linking the dietary recall data with the expanded amino acid database. Cardiometabolic risk factors included obesity, metabolic syndrome, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes.

Results: After adjusting for confounding variables, the obese group consumed higher animal protein, EAA, and NEAA than the non-obese group (p < 0.05 for all), whereas the group with hypertriglyceridemia consumed lower animal protein, EAA, and NEAA than those without hypertriglyceridemia (p < 0.05 for all). The third highest quintile of EAA, BCAA, and NEAA had a decreased risk of obesity compared to the lowest quintile (odds ratio (OR): 0.81, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.71-0.93 for EAA; OR: 0.81, 95% CI: 0.71-0.94 for BCAA; OR: 0.85, 95% CI: 0.74-0.98 for NEAA) after additional adjustment of carbohydrate intake, although there was no significant linear trend. In the case of hypertriglyceridemia, there was a positive association with plant protein intake, irrespective of the inclusion of carbohydrate or fat intake in the model (p for trend < 0.05). On the other hand, the highest quintile of EAA, BCAA, and NEAA had a decreased risk of hypertriglyceridemia compared to the lowest quintile after additionally adjusting for fat intake (OR: 0.65, 95% CI: 0.50-0.85 for EAA; OR: 0.68, 95% CI: 0.52-0.89 for BCAA; OR: 0.74, 95% CI: 0.57-0.98 for NEAA).

Conclusions: These findings indicate that protein quality might be differentially associated with cardiometabolic risk factors, particularly obesity and hypertriglyceridemia in Korean adults.

Funding Sources: This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIT).