Chen Y-M, Liu Y, Liu Y-H, Wang X, Guan K, Zhu H-L
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Food, Nutrition and Health, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
The Biotherapy Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Henan, China.
Int J Obes (Lond). 2015 Mar;39(3):465-71. doi: 10.1038/ijo.2014.158. Epub 2014 Aug 25.
Animal studies have suggested that betaine, but not choline, may improve body composition, but little evidence is available in humans. We examined the association of serum concentrations of choline and betaine with body composition and fat distribution in adults.
This community-based study recruited 1996 adults (women/men: 1380/616) aged 40-75 years in urban Guangzhou, China. General information and anthropometric measurements were taken, and serum choline and betaine levels were assessed by high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry between July 2008 and June 2010. After 3.2 years, 1623 of the 1996 participants were measured for fat mass (FM and %FM) over the total body (TB), trunk, limbs, android (A) and gynoid (G) regions. The %FM ratios of the A/G regions and the trunk and limbs were determined by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry.
Univariate analyses showed that higher serum betaine levels were significantly associated with lower values of adiposity indices (all P-trends<0.05), except in the case of the %FM at the gynoid area. After adjusting for potential covariates, similar associations were observed. The mean percentage differences between quartiles 4 and 1 of the serum betaine levels were -4.9% (weight), -4.7% (body mass index, BMI), -2.5% (waist circumference), -7.9% (TB FM) and -3.4% (TB %FM). The mean differences in the FM and %FM were much more pronounced at the trunk (-10.0 and -4.5%) or android areas (-10.7 and -4.7%) than those at the limbs (-0.8 and -2.3%) or gynoid areas (-0.6 and -1.4%). Such favorable associations were stronger in men than in women. No significant associations between serum choline and the adiposity indices were observed, except in the cases of body weight and BMI.
Greater circulating betaine, but not choline, was dose-dependently associated with better body composition and fat distribution due to a lower FM in the trunk regions in this population.
动物研究表明，甜菜碱而非胆碱可能改善身体成分，但人体研究证据较少。我们研究了成年人血清胆碱和甜菜碱浓度与身体成分及脂肪分布之间的关联。
这项基于社区的研究在中国广州城区招募了1996名年龄在40 - 75岁的成年人（女性/男性：1380/616）。收集了一般信息和人体测量数据，并于2008年7月至2010年6月期间通过高效液相色谱 - 串联质谱法评估血清胆碱和甜菜碱水平。3.2年后，对1996名参与者中的1623人测量了全身（TB）、躯干、四肢、男性型（A）和女性型（G）区域的脂肪量（FM和%FM）。A/G区域以及躯干和四肢的%FM比值通过双能X线吸收法测定。
单因素分析表明，除女性型区域的%FM外，较高的血清甜菜碱水平与较低的肥胖指数显著相关（所有P趋势<0.05）。在调整潜在协变量后，观察到类似的关联。血清甜菜碱水平第4四分位数与第1四分位数之间的平均百分比差异为：体重-4.9%、体重指数（BMI）-4.7%、腰围-2.5%、全身FM -7.9%和全身%FM -3.4%。躯干（-10.0和-4.5%）或男性型区域（-10.7和-4.7%）的FM和%FM平均差异比四肢（-0.8和-2.3%）或女性型区域（-0.6和-1.4%）更为明显。这种有利关联在男性中比在女性中更强。除体重和BMI外，未观察到血清胆碱与肥胖指数之间的显著关联。
在该人群中，循环甜菜碱水平升高而非胆碱水平升高与更好的身体成分和脂肪分布呈剂量依赖性相关，这是由于躯干区域的FM较低。
