Blood pressure, blood lipids, blood sugar, and uric acid can reflect a person's health status, but there is another indicator that is easy to be overlooked, which is an independent risk factor for a variety of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, and can more accurately show the health status, which is homocysteine (Hcy). Studies have found that homocysteine is associated with a variety of diseases, such as coronary heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, atherosclerosis, tumors, osteoporosis, etc., so everyone is reminded not to ignore this indicator during physical examination.
01
What is homocysteine?
Homocysteine (Hcy) is a sulfur-containing amino acid, which is an intermediate product of methionine metabolized in the human body, which is harmful to the human body. A variety of genetic and environmental factors can lead to an increase in homocysteine levels, resulting in hyperhomocysteinemia. Chinese experts recommend that the total homocysteine in the blood of adults ≥ 10 μmol/L is defined as hyperhomocysteinemia according to the characteristics of the mainland population.
02
What are the factors that cause an increase in homocysteine?
1. Genetic factors
Some people are born with genetic mutations or polymorphisms that affect the body's metabolism of methionine, resulting in elevated homocysteine levels.
Bad lifestyle habits
Obesity, smoking, alcohol consumption, lack of exercise, etc., are associated with high homocysteine levels. Obesity increases fat deposits in the body, causing adipose tissue to release more fatty acids, which in turn interferes with homocysteine metabolic pathways. Drinking alcohol can easily cause liver damage, resulting in an increase in homocysteine; Smoking and physical inactivity can lead to oxidative stress and inflammation, which can increase homocysteine production and release.
Age and gender
Homocysteine levels gradually increase with age. In addition, due to the influence of hormone levels, homocysteine levels are higher in men than in women, and postmenopausal in women are higher than premenopausal.
Nutritional factors
Vitamins such as vitamin B6, B12 and folic acid play an important role in the metabolism of methionine, and drinking alcohol, smoking, and poor dietary habits can lead to too little or too much consumption of folic acid, vitamin B6, and vitamin B12. Deficiencies in these nutrients can cause elevated homocysteine levels.
03
What diseases are associated with elevated homocysteine?
1. Cardiovascular disease
Hyperhomocysteinemia can cause endothelial cell damage, destroy the elastic layer of the blood vessel wall and collagen fibers, stimulate smooth muscle cell proliferation, promote platelet adhesion and aggregation and cause thrombosis, leading to plaque formation or atherosclerosis, and then triggering cardiovascular events.
2. High blood pressure
Homocysteine causes sodium reabsorption, stimulates vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation and alters the elasticity of blood vessel walls, leading to hypertension.
3. Stroke
When the level of homocysteine increases, it is easy to stimulate the abnormal proliferation of vascular smooth muscle, destroy the vascular endothelial tissue, make the local blood vessels become narrow, the elasticity of blood vessels decreases, and the blood flow speed slows down, and the blood is in a hypercoagulable state, which is easy to cause stroke.
4. Dementia
Homocysteine, as a neurotoxin, triggers apoptosis by breaking DNA and promotes neurodegeneration, such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and vascular dementia.
5. Complications of diabetes
Diabetic patients with high homocysteine are more likely to develop macrovascular injury and microangiopathy.
6. Osteoporosis
High homocysteine increases oxidative stress, disrupts the cross-linking of collagen molecules, and increases the level of advanced glycation end products, which triggers increased bone resorption, decreased bone mineral density, increased bone fragility, and ultimately osteoporosis.
7. Liver disease
The liver is an important organ for homocysteine metabolism, and hyperhomocysteinemia can enhance oxidative stress, cause liver lipid peroxidation, induce hepatocyte injury and apoptosis, and aggravate liver injury.
8. Kidney disease
Homocysteine affects kidney health by damaging the vascular endothelium, stimulating vascular smooth muscle cell production, causing thrombosis, and interfering with fat metabolism.
9. Tumors
Studies have reported that homocysteine is mainly related to malignant tumors and related precancerous lesions of the digestive system (colorectal, stomach), respiratory system (lungs), and reproductive system (ovary, prostate). In addition, homocysteinemia reduces the body's ability to oxidize stress, leading to increased oxidative damage to histiocytes, which in turn promotes tumor progression.
10. Pregnancy Illness
The toxicity of high homocysteine to endothelial cells causes cell dysfunction, microthrombosis, placental perfusion obstruction and oxidative stress, which can lead to fetal circulatory failure, fetal growth restriction, miscarriage, fetal neural tube defects, fetal growth retardation, etc.
04
Who needs this test?
1. Patients with pre-existing cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, or family history of such diseases.
2. Obese, smoking, and drinking alcohol.
3. Men over 40 years old and postmenopausal women.
05
What should I do if my body tests for hyperhomocysteinemia?
1. Control your diet, limit refined carbohydrates, and eat more fruits and vegetables.
2. Quit smoking, limit alcohol, less tea, refuse coffee and sugary drinks, limit salt, and refuse fried food.
3. Moderate exercise, such as brisk walking, jogging, yoga and other aerobic exercises.
4. Supplement nutrients such as vitamin B12, folic acid and B6 as prescribed.
5. Check homocysteine levels regularly.