Association of Egg Consumption, Metabolic Markers, and Risk of Cardiovascular Diseases

Abstract

AbstractObjectiveTo simultaneously explore the associations of self-reported egg consumption with plasma metabolic markers and these markers with CVD risk.MethodsTotally 4,778 participants (3,401 CVD cases subdivided into subtypes and 1,377 controls) aged 30-79 were selected from a nested case-control study based on the China Kadoorie Biobank. Targeted nuclear magnetic resonance was used to quantify 225 metabolites and derived traits in baseline plasma samples. Linear regression was conducted to assess associations between self-reported egg consumption and metabolic markers, which were further compared with associations between metabolic markers and CVD risk.ResultsEgg consumption was associated with 24 out of 225 markers, including positive associations for apolipoprotein A1, acetate, mean HDL diameter, and lipid profiles of very large and large HDL, and inverse associations for total cholesterol and cholesterol esters in small VLDL. Among these 24 markers, 14 of them were associated with CVD risk. In general, the associations of metabolic markers with egg consumption and of metabolic markers with CVD risk showed opposite patterns.ConclusionsIn the Chinese population, egg consumption is associated with several metabolic markers, which may partially explain the protective effect of egg consumption on CVD.