Concentration of Branched-Chain Amino Acids Is a Strong Risk Marker for Incident Hypertension

The potential role of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) in the pathogenesis of cardiometabolic diseases is increasingly recognized, but the association of BCAAs with incident hypertension remains unknown. The aim of the present study was to explore the association of BCAAs with incident hypertension in a prospective population-based cohort study. We measured plasma concentrations of BCAAs by means of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy in 4169 participants from the PREVEND (Prevention of Renal and Vascular End-stage Disease) study. We estimated the risk of incident hypertension using multivariable-adjusted Cox regression models. After a median follow-up of 8.6 years, incident hypertension was ascertained in 924 subjects. Cox regression analyses revealed a significant association between BCAAs and incident hypertension. The hazard ratio per one SD of BCAAs was 1.11 (95% CI, 1.02-1.20; P=0.01) after full adjustment for multiple clinical variables. Likewise, the fully adjusted association remained significant when evaluated as categorical variable (hazard ratio for upper quartile with lowest quartile as reference category, 1.36; 95% CI, 1.11-1.68; P=0.003). Furthermore, the net reclassification improvement assessment improved after addition of BCAAs to a traditional risk model (P<0.001). This prospective study revealed that high plasma concentrations of BCAAs are associated with an increased risk of newly developed hypertension. The association remained after adjusting for age, sex, body mass index, and lipid profile.