Amyloid‐beta (1–40) peptide is associated with systemic metabolic health

TL;DR

Higher levels of the Aβ40 peptide in blood are linked to metabolic issues like diabetes and liver disease, even in people without heart disease.

Contribution

Aβ40 is identified as a novel blood biomarker for early metabolic dysfunction and end-organ damage.

Findings

Higher Aβ40 levels are independently associated with metabolic syndrome and dyslipidemia after adjusting for traditional risk factors.

Aβ40 is linked to insulin resistance and increased risk of diabetes mellitus and liver fibrosis.

The associations remain significant even after controlling for cardiovascular risk factors.

Abstract

Amyloid‐beta 1–40 peptide (Aβ40) has recently emerged as a blood‐based biomarker of cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, whether plasma levels of Aβ40 are associated with metabolic traits in humans without established CVD remains poorly understood.

Aβ40 was measured in plasma by ELISA and metabolic traits (waist circumference, fasting triglycerides, fasting HDL cholesterol and fasting glucose) were determined in a general population (n = 449) of individuals who did not have clinically overt CVD. Triglyceride‐glucose index (TyG) was used to calculate the risk for insulin resistance. BARD score was used to calculate the risk for metabolic liver disease.

Aβ40 levels were associated with the presence of metabolic syndrome (OR: 1.41 95% CI: 1.13–1.76, p = .003), and with higher odds for increasing incidence of metabolic syndrome components, characterized by decreased HDL‐C levels (OR: 1.31 95% CI: 1.03–1.58, p = .017) and increased triglyceride levels (OR: 1.30 95% CI: 1.04–1.57, p = .033) after adjustment for traditional cardiovascular risk factors. Further, Aβ40 levels were associated with increased odds for TyG (OR: 1.26 95% CI: 1.03–1.57, p = .042) and increased odds for the presence of diabetes mellitus (OR: 1.35 95% CI: 1.04–1.76, p = .018) after adjustment for age and sex, smoking status, hypertension and dyslipidemia. Increased Aβ40 levels were associated with increased odds for BARD score ≥2 (OR: 1.41 95% CI: 1.04–2.04, p = .045) after adjustment for traditional cardiovascular risk factors.

Our findings suggest that Aβ40 peptide is associated with metabolic traits and risk for metabolic disease. Future longitudinal studies are warranted to determine the prognostic value of Aβ40 for the development and progression of metabolic diseases.

Plasma amyloid‐beta 1–40 (Aβ40) levels were measured in 449 individuals without overt cardiovascular disease. Higher Aβ40 was independently associated with metabolic syndrome, dyslipidemia (low HDL‐C, high triglycerides), insulin resistance (TyG index), diabetes mellitus and increased BARD score indicating liver fibrosis risk. These associations remained significant after adjustment for traditional risk factors. These findings suggest Aβ40 as a novel biomarker for early metabolic dysfunction and end‐organ damage. Future longitudinal studies should assess its prognostic value for metabolic disease progression.

Figures