TABLE 3.

Associations of MetScore_GLU, MetScore_AHB, and MetScore_LysoPC with the prevalent biomarker of inflammation as well as incident cardiovascular diseases in African Americans in the ARIC Study¹

	MetScore_GLU		MetScore_AHB		MetScore_LysoPC
	Values	P	Values	P	Values	P
Prevalent biomarker of inflammation (n = 1911)2
White blood cells (×1000/mm3)	−0.13	1.2 × 10−8	0.08	3.6 × 10−4	0.06	0.01
Incident cardiovascular diseases3
Hypertension (n = 896)	0.99	0.07	1.02	0.03	1.01	0.73
Coronary heart disease (n = 1903)	0.98	0.03	1.04	0.03	1.07	0.03
Heart failure (n = 1850)	0.96	1.0 × 10−6	1.02	0.12	1.04	0.16

¹Five metabolites structurally similar to 2-hydroxybutyrate and related to the branched-chain amino acid metabolism, including 2-hydroxybutyrate, were considered to be in a 2-hydroxybutyrate–related subpathway and were combined into a composite metabolomic score MetScore_AHB. Compounds belonging to a subpathway of lysophosphatidylcholines were combined into a composite metabolomic score MetScore_LysoPC. Compounds γ-glutamyl valine, γ-glutamyl phenylalanine, γ-glutamyl leucine, γ-glutamyl isoleucine, γ-glutamyl tyrosine, γ-glutamyl glutamate, and γ-glutamyl alanine were metabolized in a γ-glutamyl dipeptide subpathway and were combined into a composite metabolomic score MetScore_GLU. The association between metabolomic scores and disease biomarkers was assessed by using partial correlations, with incident hypertension (interval-censoring data) by using Weibull parametric models and with incident coronary heart disease and heart failure (right-censoring data) by using Cox proportional hazards regressions. All analyses were adjusted for age, sex, BMI, and kidney function measured by using the estimated glomerular filtration rate. P < 0.05 was significant. ARIC, Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities; MetScore_AHB, a composite metabolomic score for AHB and metabolites in an AHB-related pathway; MetScore_GLU, a composite metabolomic score for metabolites in γ-glutamyl dipeptide pathway; MetScore_LysoPC, a composite metabolomic score for phospholipids.

²All values are Pearson's partial correlation coefficients (γ).

³All values are HRs.