Chinese Cohort Associates Phenylalanine, Tryptophan With Hypertension Risk

A prospective cohort study of 10,087 Chinese adults initially free of hypertension found that higher dietary intake of phenylalanine and tryptophan was associated with an increased risk of developing hypertension. During 95,153 person-years of follow-up, 3,531 participants developed the condition. The component-specific associations were more consistent than the modest association seen for aromatic amino acids as a group, while tyrosine showed no clear relationship with hypertension.

The researchers used data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey. At baseline, dietary intake was assessed through three consecutive 24-hour dietary recalls combined with household food weighing. These records were used to estimate participants’ consumption of phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan and identify their major food sources.

Energy-adjusted aromatic amino-acid intake was expressed in grams per 1,000 kilocalories. Incident hypertension was identified through measured blood pressure, a physician’s diagnosis or use of antihypertensive medication. Mixed-effects Cox proportional hazards models estimated hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals, with household identifiers included as random intercepts.

The investigators also conducted dose-response, food-source-specific, subgroup and sensitivity analyses to examine the results from several angles. After full adjustment, participants in the highest quartile of total aromatic amino-acid intake had a modestly higher risk of incident hypertension than those in the lowest quartile. The estimated hazard ratio was 1.16 (95% confidence interval, 1.03–1.31), with a P for trend of 0.006.

This estimate weakened after the model was additionally adjusted for baseline province: the hazard ratio for the highest versus lowest quartile fell to 1.10 (95% confidence interval, 0.97–1.24). The authors therefore advised caution when interpreting the aggregate association in light of possible regional confounding. The individual amino-acid results were stronger and persisted after the additional province adjustment.

Comparing the highest with the lowest intake quartile, phenylalanine was associated with a hazard ratio of 1.26 (95% confidence interval, 1.11–1.44), while tryptophan was associated with a hazard ratio of 1.29 (95% confidence interval, 1.14–1.46). Dose-response analyses indicated approximately linear positive associations for total aromatic amino acids, phenylalanine and tryptophan. Tyrosine did not show a significant association with incident hypertension in the analysis.

The differing findings indicate that the three aromatic amino acids should not be interpreted as a single exposure in this cohort. Cereals were the predominant contributors to aromatic amino-acid intake among the study population. Food-source analyses showed positive associations between plant-derived phenylalanine and tryptophan and the risk of hypertension.

This result did not establish that cereals themselves caused the outcomes; instead, it identified a source-specific pattern within the participants’ dietary patterns. Because the research was observational, the findings describe associations rather than demonstrating that increasing phenylalanine or tryptophan intake directly causes hypertension. The attenuation of the total-intake estimate after adjustment for province also limits the strength of the aggregate conclusion.

Within the study’s population and dietary context, the results support evaluating these amino acids separately and considering both regional and food-source differences when interpreting their relationships with incident hypertension.

Subject of Research: Dietary aromatic amino acids, food sources and incident hypertension in a prospective cohort of Chinese adults

Article Title: Dietary aromatic amino acids, their food sources, and incident hypertension in Chinese adults: a prospective cohort study

Article References: Gong, M., Gao, H., Yu, H., Wu, W., Gao, X., Bu, Y., Kong, X., & Zhao, X. (2026). Dietary aromatic amino acids, their food sources, and incident hypertension in Chinese adults: a prospective cohort study. Frontiers in Nutrition, 13, Article 1956118. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2026.1956118

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2026.1956118

Keywords: hypertension, phenylalanine, tryptophan, tyrosine, aromatic amino acids, dietary intake, food sources, Chinese adults, prospective cohort, Dietary, aromatic, amino