Serum Trimethylamine N-Oxide Level Is Positively Associated with Aortic Stiffness Measured by Carotid–Femoral Pulse Wave Velocity in Patients Undergoing Maintenance Hemodialysis

Abstract

Trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) is a biomarker that is effective in predicting major adverse cardiovascular (CV) events. Age-related vascular problems are significantly affected by aortic stiffness (AS), which is independently linked to CV morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to determine the association between serum TMAO levels and carotid–femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV) in patients receiving hemodialysis (HD) therapy. In total, 115 patients with HD were enrolled in this study. The AS group included patients whose cfPWV was >10 m/s. Using high-performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry, the levels of serum TMAO were measured. The AS group included 42 (36.5%) patients, and compared with the non-AS group, the rates of diabetes, hypertension, older age, systolic blood pressure, serum glucose, and TMAO levels were high. In the multivariate logistic regression analysis, serum TMAO and age were independently linked with AS after correcting for the factors significantly associated with AS. Following multivariate stepwise linear regression analysis, serum TMAO in these individuals was found to be strongly correlated with cfPWV values (p < 0.001). In patients on chronic HD, serum TMAO level is an independent measure of AS and strongly correlated with cfPWV.