Assessment of the amino acid profile in Thai patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry

Background Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a global health problem. Early identification of those at risk is necessary to prevent its onset through lifestyle and pharmacologic interventions. T2DM is characterized by metabolic abnormalities, including protein metabolism. Evaluation of the amino acid profile might be beneficial for early assessment. Methods Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry was performed to separate and quantify plasma amino acids from two groups of Thai individuals, patients with T2DM (n=103) and healthy individuals (n=104). Multivariate analysis was applied to compare free amino acid levels between groups. Subgroup analyses of patients with T2DM were performed to assess the association between amino acid profiles and important T2DM clinical characteristics. Results The multivariate analysis showed that glutamic acid was significantly associated with T2DM (OR 1.113, 95% CI 1.006 to 1.231) and results from the subgroup analyses showed that this correlation was significant in all subgroups of patients (p