Linking of metabolomic biomarkers with cardiometabolic health in Chinese population

Due to rapid nutrition transitions, the prevalence of cardiometabolic diseases, such as metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases, has been increasing at an alarming rate in the Chinese population. Moreover, Asians, including Chinese, have been hypothesized to have a higher susceptibility to cardiometabolic diseases than Caucasians. Early prediction and prevention are key to controlling this epidemic trend; to this end, the identification of novel biomarkers is critical to reflect environmental exposure, as well as to reveal endogenous metabolic and pathophysiologic mechanisms. The emerging “omics” technologies, especially metabolomics, offer a unique opportunity to provide novel signatures or fingerprints to understand the effects of genetic and non-genetic factors on cardiometabolic health. During the past two decades, metabolomic approaches have been increasingly used in various epidemiological studies, primarily in Western populations. Although the field is still in its early stages, some studies have tried to identify novel compounds or confirm their metabolites and associations with cardiometabolic diseases in Chinese populations, including amino acids, fatty acids, acylcarnitines and other metabolites. Despite major efforts to discover novel biomarkers for disease prediction or intervention, the limits in current study design, analytical platforms, and data processing approaches are challenges in metabolomic research worldwide. Therefore, future research with more advanced technologies, rigorous study designs, standardized detection and analytic approaches, and integrated data from multiomics approaches are essential to evaluate the feasibility of using metabolomics in clinical settings. Finally, the functional roles and underlying biological mechanisms of metabolomic biomarkers should be elucidated by future mechanistic research.