TOPLINE

In older adults with overweight or obesity and metabolic syndrome (MetS), an increase in the dietary intake of spermidine over 1 year was associated with improvements in hepatic function indexes and cardiometabolic markers.

METHODOLOGY

• Researchers evaluated the longitudinal association between changes in dietary spermidine intake over a 1-year period and subsequent changes in hepatic function and cardiometabolic markers among older adults with overweight or obesity and MetS.
• They included 2664 older adults with overweight or obesity and MetS (mean age, 65.37 years; 49.55% women) using data from a multicentre, controlled, randomised, parallel-group clinical trial conducted across 23 centres in Spain.
• Dietary intake of participants over 1 year was evaluated using a validated semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire.
• Data on the intake of polyamines, including spermidine, spermine, and putrescine, were obtained from previous studies, with specific consideration of Mediterranean foods and beverages including olives, sugar, sweets, ready-to-eat foods, soft drinks, sauces, coffee, tea, and others.
• Time-series clustering was performed to identify distinct temporal patterns of spermidine intake at baseline, 6 months, and 1 year. Participants were grouped into clusters on the basis of increasing baseline intake of spermidine: cluster 1 (n = 1034), cluster 2 (n = 1099), and cluster 3 (n = 531), with a mean intake of 82.24, 104.15, and 131.53 µmol/d, respectively.

TAKEAWAY

• At 1 year, the mean increase in the dietary intake of spermidine from baseline was 9.27 μmol/d for cluster 1, 12.24 μmol/d for cluster 2, and 16.90 μmol/d for cluster 3 (P for interaction < .001). Participants in cluster 3 had the greatest reduction in the fatty liver index (beta, -8.97; P < .001) and hepatic steatosis index (beta, -1.88; P < .001) at 1 year from baseline.
• Among all clusters, cluster 3 showed a greater reduction in alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, triglyceride, and A1c levels but an increase in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels at 1 year.
• Participants in cluster 3 with the highest spermidine intake trajectory experienced the greatest reduction in BMI (beta, -1.26), waist circumference (beta, -3.72 cm), and hip circumference (beta, -2.33 cm; P < .001 for all) from baseline.
• An increase of 20 µmol/d in spermidine intake was associated with reductions in the fatty liver index (P = .002) and hepatic steatosis index (P = .003) at 1 year.

IN PRACTICE

"[The study] findings suggest that spermidine-rich dietary patterns may serve as a feasible approach to promote liver and cardiometabolic health during aging," the authors wrote.

SOURCE

This study was led by Andrés López-González, Nutritional Control of the Epigenome Group, Precision Nutrition and Obesity Program, IMDEA Food, CEI UAM + CSIC, Madrid, Spain. It was published online on July 15, 2026, in the European Journal of Nutrition.

LIMITATIONS

Adults with overweight or obesity and MetS from the Mediterranean region were included; hence, the findings may not be applicable to the general population. Self-reported data on nutritional characteristics and lifestyle parameters may have introduced information bias. Despite adjustment, the possibility of residual confounding could not be ruled out.

DISCLOSURES

The trial involved in this study received support from the official Spanish institutions for funding scientific biomedical research, CIBER Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición and Instituto de Salud Carlos III. Several authors declared receiving grants, non-financial support, and personal fees from various companies, institutions, and organisations.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.