Association between Lifestyle Habits Questionnaire and Plasma Free Amino Acid Profile in Japanese Rural Community Dwellers

The plasma free amino acid (PFAA) profiles are demonstrated to be altered by overnutrition and subsequent insulin resistance, and/or protein malnutrition in generally healthy subjects. Although, the measurement of PFAAs to evaluate the risk of overnutrition and protein malnutrition is potentially useful, large scale social implementation present several difficulties. Currently, rigorous measurement of PFAAs using high-performance liquid chromatography–electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, following the collection of fasting blood in the morning in hospitals with strict sample management, is required, which can be a burden for local hospitals. In this study, we designed a simple lifestyle habits questionnaire consisting of 19 questions reported to be associated with overnutrition and protein malnutrition, suitable for Japanese rural communities. And then, we investigated the association between PFAAs and the results of the questionnaire in 1,764 Japanese local community dwellers. The results of questions regarding lifestyles leading to overnutrition and subsequent body weight gain were associated with higher concentrations of most essential amino acids including branched chain amino acids and aromatic amino acids. On the other hand, results of questions related to lifestyles leading to protein malnutrition were associated with lower concentrations of some essential amino acids. The results of questions regarding sleep duration, frequency of dairy food intake, snack habit, gait speed, fruit and vegetable intake had little impact on PFAA profiles. This simple lifestyle habits questionnaire could be a potential screening tool to predict alterations of PFAA profiles. Further validations of the associations with other populations are necessary before large scale social implementation