The Association of Dietary Choline and Betaine With the Risk of Type 2 Diabetes: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study

Abstract

Objective: To examine the association between dietary intake of choline and betaine and the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Research design and methods: Among 13,440 Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study participants, the prospective longitudinal association between dietary choline and betaine intake and the risk of type 2 diabetes was assessed using interval-censored Cox proportional hazards and logistic regression models adjusted for baseline potential confounding variables.

Results: Among 13,440 participants (55% women, mean age 54 [SD 7.4] years), 1,396 developed incident type 2 diabetes during median follow-up of 9 years from 1987 to 1998. There was no statistically significant association between every 1-SD increase in dietary choline and risk of type 2 diabetes (hazard ratio [HR] 1.01 [95% CI 0.87, 1.16]) nor between dietary betaine intake and the risk of type 2 diabetes (HR 1.01 [0.94, 1.10]). Those in the highest quartile of dietary choline intake did not have a statistically significant higher risk of type 2 diabetes than those in the lowest choline quartile (HR 1.09 [0.84, 1.42]); similarly, dietary betaine intake was not associated with the risk of type 2 diabetes comparing the highest quartile to the lowest (HR 1.06 [0.87, 1.29]). Among women, there was a higher risk of type 2 diabetes, comparing the highest to lowest dietary choline quartile (HR 1.54 [1.06, 2.25]), while in men, the association was null (HR 0.82 [0.57, 1.17]). Nevertheless, there was a nonsignificant interaction between high choline intake and sex on the risk of type 2 diabetes (P = 0.07). The results from logistic regression were similar.

Conclusions: Overall and among male participants, dietary choline or betaine intakes were not associated with the risk of type 2 diabetes. Among female participants, there was a trend for a modestly higher risk of type 2 diabetes among those with the highest as compared with the lowest quartile of dietary choline intake. Our study should inform clinical trials on dietary choline and betaine supplementation in relationship with the risk of type 2 diabetes.