title: Dietary amino acids and the risk of hypertension in a Dutch older population: the Rotterdam Study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Inverse associations between dietary protein and hypertension have been reported, which may be attributed to specific amino acids.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We examined whether the intake of glutamic acid, arginine, cysteine, lysine, or tyrosine was associated with blood pressure (BP) levels (n = 3086) and incident hypertension (n = 1810) in the Rotterdam Study.
  
  
  METHODS
  We calculated BP levels in quartiles of amino acid intake as a percentage of total protein intake (% of protein) with adjustment for age, sex, BMI, smoking, alcohol intake, education, and dietary factors. Subsequently, we used Cox proportional models that included the same confounders to evaluate the associations between specific amino acid intake and hypertension incidence.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Glutamic acid contributed most to protein intake (21% of protein), whereas lysine provided 7%, arginine 5%, tyrosine 4%, and cysteine 1.5%. A higher intake of tyrosine (∼0.3% of protein) was significantly related to a 2.4-mm Hg lower systolic BP (P-trend = 0.05) but not to diastolic BP (P = 0.35). The other amino acids were not significantly associated with BP levels in a cross-sectional analysis. During 6 y of follow-up (7292 person-years), 873 cases of hypertension developed. None of the amino acids were significantly associated with incident hypertension (HR: 0.81-1.18; P-trend > 0.2).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data do not suggest a major role for glutamic acid, arginine, lysine, tyrosine, or cysteine intake (as % of protein intake) in determining population BP or risk of hypertension.
authors.affiliation: Top Institute Food and Nutrition, Wageningen, Netherlands. wieke.altorf@rivm.nl
authors.forename: Wieke
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Altorf-van der Kuil
authors.forename: Marielle F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Engberink
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: De Neve
authors.forename: Frank J A
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: van Rooij
authors.forename: Albert
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hofman
authors.forename: Pieter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: van't Veer
authors.forename: Jacqueline C M
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Witteman
authors.forename: Oscar H
authors.initials: OH
authors.lastname: Franco
authors.forename: Johanna M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Geleijnse
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging; D000596:Amino Acids / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000032:analysis; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004044:Dietary Proteins / Q000009:adverse effects; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D018881:Suburban Health; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D000596:Amino Acids; D004044:Dietary Proteins