l-arginine levels are related to cardiac structure and function in the general population.Methods
We related plasma ADMA and l-arginine (the amino acid precursor of NO) to echocardiographic left ventricular (LV) mass, left atrial (LA) size and fractional shortening (FS) using multivariable linear regression analyses in 1919 Framingham Offspring Study participants (mean age 57 years, 58 % women).Results
Overall, neither ADMA or l-arginine, nor their ratio was associated with LV mass, LA size and FS in multivariable models (p > 0.10 for all). However, we observed effect modification by obesity of the relations of ADMA and LA size (p for interaction p = 0.04): ADMA was positively related to LA size in obese individuals (adjusted-p = 0.0004 for trend across ADMA quartiles) but not in non-obese people.Conclusion
In our large community-based sample, plasma ADMA and l-arginine concentrations were not related to cardiac structure or function. The observation of positive relations of LA size and ADMA in obese individuals warrants confirmation.