Dietary choline and betaine intakes in relation to concentrations of inflammatory markers in healthy adults: the ATTICA study
Open accessAbstract
Background Choline and betaine are found in a variety of plant and animal foods and were recently shown to be associated with decreased homocysteine concentrations.Objective The scope of this work was to investigate the associations between dietary choline and betaine consumption and various markers of low-grade systemic inflammation.Design Under the context of a cross-sectional survey that enrolled 1514 men (18-87 y of age) and 1528 women (18-89 y of age) with no history of cardiovascular disease (the ATTICA Study), fasting blood samples were collected and inflammatory markers were measured. Dietary habits were evaluated with a validated food-frequency questionnaire, and the intakes of choline and betaine were calculated from food-composition tables.Results Compared with the lowest tertile of choline intake (<250 mg/d), participants who consumed >310 mg/d had, on average, 22% lower concentrations of C-reactive protein (P < 0.05), 26% lower concentrations of interleukin-6 (P < 0.05), and 6% lower concentrations of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (P < 0.01). Similarly, participants who consumed >360 mg/d of betaine had, on average, 10% lower concentrations of homocysteine (P < 0.01), 19% lower concentrations of C-reactive protein (P < 0.1), and 12% lower concentrations of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (P < 0.05) than did those who consumed <260 mg/d. These findings were independent of various sociodemographic, lifestyle, and clinical characteristics of the participants.Conclusions Our results support an association between choline and betaine intakes and the inflammation process in free-eating and apparently healthy adults. However, further studies are needed to confirm or refute our findings.
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The connection between dietary choline and betaine and heart disease in human subjects is unclear.
“The connection between dietary choline and betaine and heart disease in subjects is unclear.”
From Prognostic value of choline and betaine depends on intestinal microbiota-generated metabolite trimethylamine-N-oxide (2014) · cites this paper as [8]
One study found that greater choline and betaine consumption was linked to less inflammation.
“High intake of choline and betaine was associated with diminished inflammation in one study (66,67).”
From The contributory role of gut microbiota in cardiovascular disease (2014) · cites this paper as [66]
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- Authors
- Detopoulou, P., Panagiotakos, D. B., Antonopoulou, S., Pitsavos, C., & Stefanadis, C.
- Affiliations
- National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (GR)
- Corresponding author
- Panagiotakos, Demosthenes B
- ORCID
- Venue
- The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2008-02
- Volume
- 87
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 424-430
- ISSN
- 0002-9165 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2158828556
- Cited by
- 286
- References
- 51
- Citations by year
- 2026: 12 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 20 · 2023: 20 · 2022: 19 · 2021: 20 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 19 · 2018: 16 · 2017: 15 · 2016: 18 · 2015: 17 · 2014: 15 · 2013: 12 · 2012: 13
- FWCI
- 15.50
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Nutritional Studies and Diet
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Rheumatology › Folate and B Vitamins Research
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Fatty Acid Research and Health
- Keywords
- dietary choline, dietary betaine, low-grade inflammation, C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, TNF-α, homocysteine, healthy adults, ATTICA study
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Analysis of Variance, Betaine, C-Reactive Protein, Choline, Cross-Sectional Studies, Diet Surveys, Fasting, Feeding Behavior, Female, Greece, Homocysteine, Humans, Inflammation, Life Style, Lipotropic Agents, Male, Middle Aged, Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha, Biomarkers, Interleukin-6
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