Large-Scale Metabolomics and the Incidence of Cardiovascular Disease

BACKGROUND: The study aimed to show the relationship between a large number of circulating metabolites and subsequent cardiovascular disease (CVD) and subclinical markers of CVD in the general population. METHODS AND RESULTS: In 2278 individuals free from CVD in the EpiHealth study (aged 45–75 years, mean age 61 years, 50% women), 790 annotated nonxenobiotic metabolites were measured by mass spectroscopy (Metabolon). The same metabolites were measured in the PIVUS (Prospective Investigation of Vasculature in Uppsala Seniors) study (n=603, all aged 80 years, 50% women), in which cardiac and carotid artery pathologies were evaluated by ultrasound. During a median follow-up of 8.6 years, 107 individuals experienced a CVD (fatal or nonfatal myocardial infarction, stroke, or heart failure) in EpiHealth. Using a false discovery rate of 0.05 for age- and sex-adjusted analyses and P