Serum taurine and risk of coronary heart disease: A prospective, nested case-control study

Oktawia P. Wójcik, Karen L. Koenig, Anne Zeleniuch-Jacquotte, Camille Pearte, Max Costa, Yu Chen

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

Abstract

Purpose: Taurine (2-aminoethanesulfonic acid), a molecule obtained from diet, is involved in bile acid conjugation, blood pressure regulation, anti-oxidation and anti-inflammation. We performed the first prospective study of taurine and CHD risk. Methods: We conducted a case-control study nested in the New York University Women's Health Study to evaluate the association between circulating taurine levels and risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). Taurine was measured in two yearly pre-diagnostic serum samples of 223 CHD cases and 223 matched controls and averaged for a more reliable measurement of long-term taurine levels. Results: Mean serum taurine was positively related to age and dietary intake of poultry, niacin, vitamin B1, fiber and iron, and negatively related to dietary intake of saturated fat (all p values ≤0.05). There was no statistically significant association between serum taurine levels and the risk of CHD in the overall study population. The adjusted ORs for CHD in increasing taurine tertiles were 1.0 (reference), 0.85 (95% CI, 0.51-1.40) and 0.66 (0.39-1.13; p for trend = 0.14). There was a significant inverse association between serum taurine and CHD risk among women with high total serum cholesterol (>250 mg/dL) (adjusted OR = 0.39 (0.19-0.83) for the third versus first tertile; p for trend = 0.02) but not among those with low total serum cholesterol (p for interaction = 0.01). The data suggest a possible inverse association of serum taurine with diabetes and hypertension risk. Conclusions: The findings suggest that high levels of taurine may be protective against CHD among individuals with high serum cholesterol levels.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)169-178
Number of pages10
JournalEuropean Journal of Nutrition
Volume52
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2013

Keywords

  • Coronary heart disease
  • Epidemiology
  • NYUWHS
  • Serum
  • Taurine

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Medicine (miscellaneous)
  • Nutrition and Dietetics

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