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(OR21-05-26) Effects of Dietary Protein Intake and Source on Cardiometabolic Risk Factors via Plasma and Urinary Metabolomics: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Singapore Older Adults

Monday, July 27, 2026
3:18 PM - 3:30 PM ET
Location: Maryland Ballroom C
Emerging Leaders in Nutrition Science Poster Competition Student Interest Group (SIG) Three-Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition

    Presenting Author(s)

  • Nicole M Y Wong, BSc (she/her/hers)

    PhD Candidate
    National University of Singapore
    Singapore, Singapore

    Disclosure(s): No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

    • Co-Author(s)

  • IM

    Ian Mak

    National University of Singapore, Singapore

  • YY

    Yueying Yao

    National University of Singapore, Singapore

  • LY

    Lingyin Yu

    National University of Singapore, Singapore

  • CK

    Chin Meng Khoo

    National University of Singapore, Singapore

  • JK

    Jung Eun Kim

    National University of Singapore, Singapore

Disclosure(s):
Nicole M Y Wong, BSc: No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.
Objectives: Metabolic mechanisms linking dietary protein intake to cardiometabolic health remain unclear, especially in Asian populations. Using metabolomics to investigate these underlying biochemical pathways, this randomized controlled trial (RCT) aimed to identify plasma or urine metabolites differentiating protein quantity and source, and examine their mediation of cardiometabolic risk factors (CRFs) in Singapore older adults.

Methods: In a 16-week double-blinded parallel RCT, 49 older adults were randomized to Control (n=18), Casein (n=14), or Soy (n=17) groups. All consumed a healthy dietary pattern, with Casein/Soy receiving an extra 20 g/day of casein/soy protein powder. Response of protein intake and CRFs, including anthropometry, blood pressure, and glucose and lipid-lipoprotein panels, were assessed at baseline (W0) and Week 16 (W16) with two-way repeated measures ANOVA and Bonferroni correction. Plasma and urine metabolomics (W0, W16) were conducted via UPLC-QTOF-MS/MS, and data were analyzed with ANOVA-simultaneous component analysis (ASCA) and linear mixed models (LMM). Metabolites were annotated and pathway analyzed, and mediation of selected CRFs tested using linear regression. Significance was set as p/false discovery rate < 0.05.

Results: Protein supplementation did not significantly alter CRFs, apart from significant group x time interaction for triglycerides (TG) (p = 0.02), with higher TG in Control than Soy at W16. ASCA identified 24 plasma and 223 urine metabolites associated with time x protein quantity interaction, while LMM identified 133 plasma and 758 urine metabolites differing by protein source. Pathway enrichment showed that protein quantity influenced branch-chained amino acid biosynthesis, while protein source affected plasma amino acid metabolism (Casein vs Control) and urinary caffeine metabolism (Soy vs Control). No selected metabolites mediated TG changes, suggesting involvement of pathways not captured in the present analysis.

Conclusions: Protein supplementation from different sources modulated amino acid-related metabolomic pathways but showed limited associations with cardiometabolic health. Broader omics approaches (e.g. lipidomics) may further clarify the metabolic links between dietary protein intake and CRFs given the observed lipid-lipoprotein changes.

Funding Sources: Bezos Earth Fund