Dietary intake of dicarbonyl compounds and changes in body weight over time in a large cohort of European adults

Dicarbonyl compounds are highly reactive precursors of Advanced Glycation End-products (AGEs), produced endogenously, present in certain foods, and formed during food processing. AGEs contribute to development of adverse metabolic outcomes but health effects of dietary dicarbonyls are largely unexplored. We investigated associations between three dietary dicarbonyl compounds, methylglyoxal (MGO), glyoxal (GO), and 3-deoxyglucosone (3-DG), and body-weight changes in European adults. Dicarbonyl intakes were estimated using food composition database from 263,095 EPIC-PANACEA participants with two body-weight assessments (median follow-up time=5.4y). Associations between dicarbonyls and 5-year body-weight changes were estimated using mixed linear regression models. Stratified analyses by sex, age, and baseline BMI were performed. Risk of becoming overweight/obese was assessed using multivariable-adjusted logistic regression. MGO intake was associated with 5-year body-weight gain of 0.089kg (per 1-SD increase, 95%CI=0.072, 0.107). 3-DG was inversely associated with body-weight change (-0.076kg, -0.094, -0.058). No significant association was observed for GO (0.018kg, -0.002, 0.037). In stratified analyses, GO was associated with body-weight gain among women and older participants (above median of 52.4y). MGO was associated with higher body-weight gain among older participants. 3-DG was inversely associated with body-weight gain among younger and normal-weight participants. MGO was associated with higher risk of becoming overweight/obese, while inverse associations were observed for 3-DG. No associations were observed for GO with overweight/obesity. Dietary dicarbonyls are inconsistently associated with body-weight change among European adults. Further research is needed to clarify the role of these food components in overweight and obesity, their underlying mechanisms, and potential public-health implications.