Plasma reactive dicarbonyls are not independently associated with arterial stiffness: The Maastricht Study

BACKGROUND: Arterial stiffness is a strong predictor of cardiovascular diseases and all-cause mortality. Increased concentrations of highly reactive dicarbonyl compounds - methylglyoxal (MGO), glyoxal (GO), and/or 3-deoxyglucosone (3-DG) - may cause arterial stiffening via formation of advanced glycation end products, triggering maladaptive responses in vascular tissue, e.g., elastin degradation and collagen cross-linking. Therefore, we investigated in the population-based Maastricht study whether plasma MGO, GO, and 3-DG concentrations were cross-sectionally associated with carotid-to-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV) and local carotid stiffness measures: pulse wave velocity (cPWV), and Young's elastic modulus (cYEM) using standardized main variables. METHODS: Fasting dicarbonyl concentrations were determined by ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry in EDTA plasma collected from 2275 participants (age 60±8 years, mean±SD; 49% women, 605 (27%) with type 2 diabetes mellitus) of the Maastricht Study, an observational, population-based cohort study. Cross-sectional associations were assessed using multivariable linear regression analysis adjusting for age, sex, mean arterial pressure (MAP), heart rate, lifestyle factors, and medication. Since arterial stiffness measures are intrinsically pressure dependent, we additionally assessed the associations with pressure-corrected counterparts, instead of statistically correcting for MAP. RESULTS: Fasting dicarbonyl concentrations were associated with arterial stiffness measures (greater cfPWV, cPWV and cYEM) in most crude models, but not in adjusted models. The use of pressure-corrected metrics did not materially change the association of interest. CONCLUSION: Fasting plasma concentrations of either MGO, GO, or 3-DG are not independently associated with arterial stiffness in this cross-sectional analysis.