Abstract: Objective  To investigate the association of plasma trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO) with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods  The total of 119 T2DM inpatients at the Department of Endocrinology, Aerospace Center Hospital from July 2021 to October 2021 were enrolled in the present study. The 55 healthy subjects who had physical examinations in Aerospace Center Hospital during the same period were also collected as the control group. General data of all subjects were recorded. Concentrations of plasma TMAO were measured by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The relationship between plasma TMAO and T2DM was analyzed. Results  The patients with T2DM were older and had higher systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, triglyceride, fasting blood glucose and glycosylated hemoglobin.On the other side, serum albumin, high density lipoprotein-cholesterol, and low density lipoprotein-cholesterol were lower in the T2DM group than in the control group (P<0.05). As compared with the control group, the T2DM patients showed a significantly higher plasma TMAO ［(137.83±11.80) pg/mL vs (122.65±10.93) pg/mL, P<0.05)］. Logistic regression analysis found that age (OR=1.268, 95%CI: 1.055－1.523, P=0.011) and plasma TMAO concentration (OR=1.186, 95%CI: 1.005－1.399, P=0.043) were independently associated with T2DM after adjustment for confounding factors. Conclusions  T2DM patients showed a higher plasma TMAO level, and T2DM was associated with plasma TMAO.

Key words: trimethylamine-N-oxide, type 2 diabetes mellitus, metabolites of intestinal flora