Estudios científicos

Urinary tartaric acid as a biomarker of wine consumption and cardiovascular risk: the PREDIMED trial

Abstract:

Background and Aims

Moderate wine consumption has been associated with lower cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in older populations. However, wine consumption information through self-reports is prone to measurement errors inherent to subjective assessments. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between urinary tartaric acid, an objective biomarker of wine consumption, and the rate of a composite clinical CVD event.

Methods

A case-cohort nested study was designed within the PREDIMED trial with 1232 participants: 685 incident cases of CVD and a random subcohort of 625 participants (including 78 overlapping cases). Wine consumption was registered using validated food frequency questionnaires. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry was used to measure urinary tartaric acid at baseline and after one year of intervention. Weighted Cox regression models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) of CVD.

Results

Tartaric acid was correlated with self-reported wine consumption at baseline [r = 0.46 (95% CI 0.41; 0.50)]. Five categories of post hoc urinary tartaric acid excretion were used for better representation of risk patterns. Concentrations of 3–12 and 12–35 μg/mL, which reflect ∼3–12 and 12–35 glasses/month of wine, were associated with lower CVD risk [HR 0.62 (95% CI 0.38; 1.00), P = .050 and HR 0.50 (95% CI 0.27; 0.95), P = .035, respectively]. Less significant associations between self-reported wine consumption and CVD risk were observed.

Conclusions

Light-to-moderate wine consumption, measured through an objective biomarker (tartaric acid), was prospectively associated with lower CVD rate in a Mediterranean population at high cardiovascular risk.

Comentarios divulgativos:

En este estudio han participado 1.232 personas con alto riesgo cardiovascular, quienes siguieron el patrón de alimentación y estilo de vida Dieta Mediterránea durante un período de cuatro a cinco años.

La investigación ha empleado un método innovador para medir el consumo de vino: analizar el ácido tartárico presente en la orina. Esta técnica es mucho más precisa que los cuestionarios habituales, que dependen de lo que la gente recuerda o declara haber bebido.

Los resultados indicaron que aquellos que consumían entre media y una copa de vino al día reducían en un 50% el riesgo de sufrir eventos cardiovasculares graves, como infarto de miocardio, accidente cerebrovascular o muerte cardiovascular, en comparación con quienes bebían muy poco o nada de vino. Asimismo, un consumo ligero (menos de media copa al día) mostró una reducción del riesgo del 38%. Sin embargo, el efecto protector desaparecía con consumos superiores a una copa y media diaria.