Habitual Intake of Dietary Advanced Glycation End Products Is Not Associated with Arterial Stiffness of the Aorta and Carotid Artery in Adults: The Maastricht Study

BACKGROUND: Advanced glycation end products (AGEs), a heterogeneous group of bioactive compounds, are thought to contribute to arterial stiffness, which in turn is a causal factor in the pathogenesis of stroke, myocardial infarction, and heart failure. Whether AGEs derived from food also contribute to arterial stiffness is not clear. OBJECTIVES: We investigated whether higher intake of dietary AGEs is associated with arterial stiffness. METHODS: In this cross-sectional observational study in 2255 participants of The Maastricht Study (mean ± SD age: 60 ± 8 y, 51% male, mean ± SD BMI: 26.9 ± 4.4 kg/m2, n = 1326 normal glucose metabolism, n = 341 prediabetes, and n = 585 type 2 diabetes mellitus), we estimated intake of the dietary AGEs Nε-(carboxymethyl)lysine (CML), Nε-(1-carboxyethyl)lysine (CEL), and Nδ-(5-hydro-5-methyl-4-imidazolon-2-yl)-ornithine (MG-H1) by a validated FFQ coupled to our ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry dietary AGE database. Arterial stiffness was determined using carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV), carotid distensibility coefficient (DC), and carotid Young's elastic modulus (YEM). We performed multiple linear regression analyses adjusting for potential confounders (demographic, hemodynamic, cardiovascular, and dietary factors). RESULTS: In the fully adjusted models we observed no statistically significant associations between intake of the dietary AGEs CML, CEL, and MG-H1 and arterial stiffness expressed as cfPWV, carotid DC, and carotid YEM. CONCLUSIONS: In adults aged 40-75 y, habitual intake of the dietary AGEs CML, CEL, and MG-H1 is not associated with arterial stiffness measured as cfPWV, carotid DC, or carotid YEM.