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Habitual taurine intake and plasma taurine concentration are not associated with the risk of incident type 2 diabetes

Zhang, Shunming LU ; Borné, Yan LU ; Xu, Xinyu ; Gu, Yeqing ; Wu, Hongmei ; Zhang, Qing ; Liu, Li ; Ottosson, Filip LU ; Duarte, João M N LU orcid and Ma, Le , et al. (2026) In The Journal of nutrition
Abstract

BACKGROUND: Taurine has shown promise as a therapeutic agent for diabetic disorders, and circulating taurine concentration has consistently been lower in individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2D). However, it is unclear whether higher habitual taurine intake or plasma taurine concentration is associated with a lower risk of developing T2D.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate associations of habitual taurine intake, its food source, and plasma taurine concentration with risk of incident T2D.

METHODS: This prospective study included 23,456 individuals without diabetes from the Chinese Tianjin Chronic Low-grade Systemic Inflammation and Health (TCLSIH) cohort and 24,241 individuals without diabetes from the Swedish Malmö Diet and Cancer... (More)

BACKGROUND: Taurine has shown promise as a therapeutic agent for diabetic disorders, and circulating taurine concentration has consistently been lower in individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2D). However, it is unclear whether higher habitual taurine intake or plasma taurine concentration is associated with a lower risk of developing T2D.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate associations of habitual taurine intake, its food source, and plasma taurine concentration with risk of incident T2D.

METHODS: This prospective study included 23,456 individuals without diabetes from the Chinese Tianjin Chronic Low-grade Systemic Inflammation and Health (TCLSIH) cohort and 24,241 individuals without diabetes from the Swedish Malmö Diet and Cancer (MDC) cohort. Habitual taurine intake was assessed using a validated food frequency questionnaire in the TCLSIH cohort and a modified diet history method in the MDC cohort. Plasma taurine concentration was measured in a subsample of the MDC cohort. Incident T2D was identified through medical examinations and physician diagnoses in the TCLSIH cohort, and via registry linkage and rescreening in the MDC cohort. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

RESULTS: Over a median follow-up of 4.2 years (TCLSIH) and 24.6 years (MDC), 757 and 4,161 participants developed T2D, respectively. The fully adjusted HRs (95% CIs) for incident T2D comparing extreme quartiles of absolute taurine intake were 0.96 (0.73, 1.25) in the TCLSIH cohort and 1.08 (0.96, 1.21) in the MDC cohort. The corresponding pooled multivariable HR (95% CI) was 1.06 (0.95, 1.18). Such associations remained largely unchanged after adjusting taurine intake for total energy using both the residual and nutrient density methods. In addition, no significant association was observed for source-specific taurine and plasma taurine concentration.

CONCLUSIONS: Neither habitual taurine intake nor plasma taurine concentration was associated with risk of incident T2D in population-based settings.

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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
epub
subject
in
The Journal of nutrition
article number
101818
publisher
Oxford University Press
external identifiers
  • pmid:42697512
ISSN
1541-6100
DOI
10.1016/j.tjnut.2026.101818
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Copyright © 2026 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
id
13e43140-6339-4aa2-bfbf-d882a8a0f213
date added to LUP
2026-09-08 12:29:36
date last changed
2026-09-08 13:05:30
@article{13e43140-6339-4aa2-bfbf-d882a8a0f213,
  abstract     = {{<p>BACKGROUND: Taurine has shown promise as a therapeutic agent for diabetic disorders, and circulating taurine concentration has consistently been lower in individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2D). However, it is unclear whether higher habitual taurine intake or plasma taurine concentration is associated with a lower risk of developing T2D.</p><p>OBJECTIVE: To investigate associations of habitual taurine intake, its food source, and plasma taurine concentration with risk of incident T2D.</p><p>METHODS: This prospective study included 23,456 individuals without diabetes from the Chinese Tianjin Chronic Low-grade Systemic Inflammation and Health (TCLSIH) cohort and 24,241 individuals without diabetes from the Swedish Malmö Diet and Cancer (MDC) cohort. Habitual taurine intake was assessed using a validated food frequency questionnaire in the TCLSIH cohort and a modified diet history method in the MDC cohort. Plasma taurine concentration was measured in a subsample of the MDC cohort. Incident T2D was identified through medical examinations and physician diagnoses in the TCLSIH cohort, and via registry linkage and rescreening in the MDC cohort. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).</p><p>RESULTS: Over a median follow-up of 4.2 years (TCLSIH) and 24.6 years (MDC), 757 and 4,161 participants developed T2D, respectively. The fully adjusted HRs (95% CIs) for incident T2D comparing extreme quartiles of absolute taurine intake were 0.96 (0.73, 1.25) in the TCLSIH cohort and 1.08 (0.96, 1.21) in the MDC cohort. The corresponding pooled multivariable HR (95% CI) was 1.06 (0.95, 1.18). Such associations remained largely unchanged after adjusting taurine intake for total energy using both the residual and nutrient density methods. In addition, no significant association was observed for source-specific taurine and plasma taurine concentration.</p><p>CONCLUSIONS: Neither habitual taurine intake nor plasma taurine concentration was associated with risk of incident T2D in population-based settings.</p>}},
  author       = {{Zhang, Shunming and Borné, Yan and Xu, Xinyu and Gu, Yeqing and Wu, Hongmei and Zhang, Qing and Liu, Li and Ottosson, Filip and Duarte, João M N and Ma, Le and Niu, Kaijun and Sonestedt, Emily}},
  issn         = {{1541-6100}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{09}},
  publisher    = {{Oxford University Press}},
  series       = {{The Journal of nutrition}},
  title        = {{Habitual taurine intake and plasma taurine concentration are not associated with the risk of incident type 2 diabetes}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tjnut.2026.101818}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.tjnut.2026.101818}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}