Background

Our previous studies indicate that patients with metabolic disease have elevated fasting lactate, which is reduced with bariatric surgery or weight loss. However, it is not clear if lactate can be used as a biomarker for early metabolic disease risk. The purpose of this study was to associate fasting plasma lactate with markers of the metabolic syndrome in a young, healthy overweight cohort.

Methods

Fifty-four, young (28 ± 8 years), male (n=24) and female (n=30) subjects were recruited. Subjects arrived after a 12-hour fast for measures of weight, blood pressure, and a blood draw. Body composition by DXA was measured in a subset. Regression analyses were conducted with lactate and factors of the metabolic syndrome. Data is presented as mean ± SD.

Results

The average BMI was 27.0 ± 2.31 kg/m2 with 30.6 ± 8.0% body fat. Fasting plasma lactate was 0.9 ± 0.31mmol/L with a range from 0.2-1.66. Subjects had normal plasma lipids (triglycerides 91.4 ± 57.1, LDL 105.1 ± 35.3, and HDL 53.5 ± 14.0 mg/dL), were non-hypertensive, and insulin sensitive (HOMA-IR 2.3 ± 1.7). Lactate did not associate with BMI (p=0.16) or percent fat (0.64), but positively associated with visceral adiposity (R2=0.38, p=0.0007), triglycerides (R2=0.24, p=0.0002) and negatively with HDL (R2=0.1, p=0.02). Lactate positively associated with HOMA-IR (R2=0.2, p=0.0007) and systolic blood pressure (R2=0.08, p=0.05).

Conclusions

Fasting plasma lactate levels are associated with increased dyslipidemia, hypertension, visceral adiposity, and insulin resistance. Fasting lactate may be a useful biomarker to detect early metabolic syndrome in healthy populations.