A recent study from UiB shows that elevated plasma methylmalonic acid predicts increased risk of acute myocardial infarction and mortality in patients with suspected or verified coronary heart disease.
Methylmalonic acid (MMA) is a substance produced from the breakdown of aminoacids, odd-chain fatty acids and cholesterol within the body. MMA concentration in blood is reported to be elevated in patients with heart diseases and kidney impairment, and better plasma MMA is taken into account a marker of vitamin B12 deficiency.
In our study, we analyzed the association of plasma MMA with the danger of acute myocardial infarction and death in 7662 participants of two large, independent cohorts of patients evaluated for either suspected coronary heart disease or verified coronary heart disease.”
Indu Dhar, lead creator of article, researcher, Department of Clinical Science, University of Bergen
They found that across each cohorts higher MMA in plasma was related to reduced renal function and low B12 status at baseline. Nevertheless, higher plasma MMA predicted increased long-term risk of acute myocardial infarction and total and cardiovascular deaths independent of renal function and B12 status.
“This may increasingly suggest that risk relationship between MMA and outcomes shouldn’t be explained by vitamin B12 status or kidney function alone2, says Dhar.
One other essential finding findings from this research was the positive association between plasma MMA and risk of dying as a consequence of non-cardiovascular causes primarily in patients evaluated for suspected coronary heart disease, thus warranting further research to explore MMA in a wider perspective beyond cardiovascular diseases.
“Future studies also needs to investigate the potential role of MMA as a very important regulator of energy and lipid metabolism”, Dhar concludes.
Source:
Journal reference:
Dhar, I., et al. (2023) Plasma methylmalonic acid predicts risk of acute myocardial infarction and mortality in patients with coronary heart disease: A prospective 2-cohort study. Journal of Internal Medicine. doi.org/10.1111/joim.13610.