Discussion
HTN, hypertension, HTN.Acylcarnitines
PULMONARY ARTERIAL HYPERTENSION, HYPERTENSION, HTN
In this study, we investigated the plasma profile of a large number of acylcarnitines and amino acids at different stages of blood pressure in a large Iranian population and found that 34 metabolites were associated with an increased odds of stage 2 HTN, and 5 metabolites were associated with a decreased odds of stage 2 HTN. This study also showed that the underlying characteristics of the participants, particularly age, BMI, lipid profile, glycemic profile, use of oral glucose-lowering drugs, statins, and antihypertensive drugs, affected the plasma levels of numerous metabolites in different BP categories, and after full adjustment for these variables, many metabolites lost their predictive value for hypertension, whereas C0, C12, C14:1, C14:2, and glycine remained significant potential biomarkers for predicting stage 2 HTN. This issue not only demonstrated the independent association of these latter metabolites with hypertension but also suggested the potential association of metabolomics profile with age, BMI, lipid profile, and glycemic profile. Besides, we found an index that was predictive of stage 2 HTN independent of underlying risk factors; this index consists of 2 amino acids, including glycine and serine, that was associated with a lower risk of stage 2 HTN.Acylcarnitines, derived from conjugations of carnitine with acyl-coenzyme A, are important intermediates contributing to the β-oxidation of fatty acids. In this study, the plasma levels of many acylcarnitines were higher in the stage 2 HTN patients. This indicates the inefficiency of β-oxidation in HTN patients, whereas this group requires higher energy consumption to maintain circulation [Consistent with our findings, several previous studies have investigated acylcarnitines and amino acids as potential biomarkers for predicting incident HTN [In another Chinese metabolomics study, C8:1 and C10:1 were found to have good diagnostic abilities for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) [Our crude and adjusted models showed that glycine was negatively associated with the stage 2 HTN. In line with our findings, several previous studies reported lower levels of glycine in HTN [