The association of serum dimethylglycine with the risk of cancer

Abstract

Abstract Background & aims: Few studies have explored the effect of serum dimethylglycine on cancer risk. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between serum dimethylglycine and the risk of new cancers. Methods We conducted a nested case-control study using data from the "H-type Hypertensive Stroke Prevention and Control Project" on adults with hypertension from the Rongcheng cohort, including 1510 cancer cases and 1510 matched controls. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression was used to study the relationship between serum dimethylglycine and cancer risk. Results Participants were 56% male with a mean age of 69.45 ± 7.73 years. A multivariate-adjusted restricted cubic spline plot showed that serum dimethylglycine concentrations were positively and non-linearly associated with cancer risk. Multivariate logistic regression results showed that with a cut-off value of 1.05ug/mL, serum dimethylglycine > 1.05ug/mL had a non-linear, positive correlation with the risk of cancer (P = 0.002). Stratified analysis showed that high levels of dimethylglycine and age < 65 years (vs. age ≥ 65 years), males (vs. females), BMI < 24 (vs. BMI ≥ 24kg/m2), no antihypertensive medication use (vs. antihypertensive medication use), no hypoglycemic medication use (vs. hypoglycemic medication use), former smokers (vs. non-smokers), former drinkers (vs. non-drinkers), fruit and vegetable intake (< 0.5 kg/week vs. >0.5 kg/week), or no family history of cancer (vs. family history of cancer) were associated with increased cancer risk. There was a significant interaction between dimethylglycine and hypoglycemic drug use, with high concentrations of dimethylglycine associated with higher cancer risk than low concentrations in patients not taking hypoglycemic drugs (P = 0.035 for interaction). Conclusions We found that elevated serum dimethylglycine levels were positively associated with cancer risk in patients with hypertension. Our findings may contribute to future cancer prevention and diagnosis.