Association of serum ergothioneine with alcohol consumption and serum asymmetric dimethyl-l-arginine among middle-aged and older adults in the Hunter Community Study

Among plasma metabolites linked with a health-conscious food pattern (HCFP) identified in the Malmö Diet and Cancer epidemiological study, circulating ergothioneine (ERT) concentrations exhibited the strongest independent association with reduced risk of cardiometabolic disease and all-cause mortality and were also related to alcohol consumption. Thus, we first assessed whether alcohol intake and ERT were similarly associated in participants of the Hunter Community Study (HCS) that did not follow an HCFP-based diet. Then, we sought to identify the presence of associations with some biomarkers associated with cardiovascular disease. In a multivariable adjusted, robust regression analysis, compared to non-drinkers, safe drinkers had, on average, a serum ERT concentration 0.112 (95% CI: 0.0–0.225; P = 0.051) units higher and moderate-hazardous drinkers had a serum ERT concentration 0.240 (95% CI: 0.093–0.387; P = 0.001) units higher. Moreover, stepwise multiple linear regression shows that age (P = 0.025), and asymmetric dimethyl-l-arginine (ADMA) (P = 0.001) were independently associated with serum ERT concentrations, independently of age, sex, education, household income, marital status, and health status of participants, or possible alcohol-induced organ damage. The relationship between ERT and ADMA offers a potential explanation for the interplay between ERT, and decreased risk of cardiometabolic disease and all-cause mortality. Also, it provides new mechanistic insights into the association between alcohol consumption and cardiovascular diseases, possibly mediated by ADMA metabolic pathways.