Skip to main content
Journal cover image

Plasma lactate as a marker of metabolic health: Implications of elevated lactate for impairment of aerobic metabolism in the metabolic syndrome.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Jones, TE; Pories, WJ; Houmard, JA; Tanner, CJ; Zheng, D; Zou, K; Coen, PM; Goodpaster, BH; Kraus, WE; Dohm, GL
Published in: Surgery
November 2019

BACKGROUND: Fasting lactate is elevated in metabolic diseases and could possibly be predictive of the risk of developing the metabolic syndrome. METHODS: Plasma samples were analyzed for fasting lactate to compare lean subjects, nondiabetic subjects with severe obesity, and metabolically impaired subjects. Subjects with severe obesity were studied 1 week before and 1 week to 9 months after gastric bypass surgery. Subjects with components of the metabolic syndrome were studied before and after 6 months of an exercise intervention. RESULTS: Metabolically impaired subjects had higher fasting lactate concentrations (P < .0001) and respond to a glucose or insulin challenge with higher lactates than non-obese subjects (P < .004). Lactate was significantly reduced a week after gastric bypass surgery (P < .05) and further reduced 1 to 9 months after surgery (0.95 ± 0.04 mM in non-obese, 1.26 ± 0.12 mM in subjects with severe obesity, and 0.68 ± 0.03 mM 1-3 months after gastric bypass). Six months of chronic exercise resulted in a 16% reduction (P = .028) in fasting lactate. CONCLUSION: Fasting plasma lactate was elevated in obese subjects with the metabolic syndrome compared with healthy lean individuals. Lactate was reduced by exercise and bariatric surgery, interventions that improve metabolic health and risk for subsequent disease. The results of this study and those previously published by our research group suggest that elevated lactate may be caused by an impairment in aerobic metabolism and may offer a metric assessing the severity of the metabolic syndrome.

Duke Scholars

Altmetric Attention Stats
Dimensions Citation Stats

Published In

Surgery

DOI

EISSN

1532-7361

Publication Date

November 2019

Volume

166

Issue

5

Start / End Page

861 / 866

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Treatment Outcome
  • Surgery
  • Severity of Illness Index
  • Obesity, Morbid
  • Middle Aged
  • Metabolic Syndrome
  • Male
  • Lactic Acid
  • Humans
  • Gastric Bypass
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Jones, T. E., Pories, W. J., Houmard, J. A., Tanner, C. J., Zheng, D., Zou, K., … Dohm, G. L. (2019). Plasma lactate as a marker of metabolic health: Implications of elevated lactate for impairment of aerobic metabolism in the metabolic syndrome. Surgery, 166(5), 861–866. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.surg.2019.04.017
Jones, Terry E., Walter J. Pories, Joseph A. Houmard, Charles J. Tanner, Donghai Zheng, Kai Zou, Paul M. Coen, Bret H. Goodpaster, William E. Kraus, and G Lynis Dohm. “Plasma lactate as a marker of metabolic health: Implications of elevated lactate for impairment of aerobic metabolism in the metabolic syndrome.Surgery 166, no. 5 (November 2019): 861–66. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.surg.2019.04.017.
Jones TE, Pories WJ, Houmard JA, Tanner CJ, Zheng D, Zou K, et al. Plasma lactate as a marker of metabolic health: Implications of elevated lactate for impairment of aerobic metabolism in the metabolic syndrome. Surgery. 2019 Nov;166(5):861–6.
Jones, Terry E., et al. “Plasma lactate as a marker of metabolic health: Implications of elevated lactate for impairment of aerobic metabolism in the metabolic syndrome.Surgery, vol. 166, no. 5, Nov. 2019, pp. 861–66. Pubmed, doi:10.1016/j.surg.2019.04.017.
Jones TE, Pories WJ, Houmard JA, Tanner CJ, Zheng D, Zou K, Coen PM, Goodpaster BH, Kraus WE, Dohm GL. Plasma lactate as a marker of metabolic health: Implications of elevated lactate for impairment of aerobic metabolism in the metabolic syndrome. Surgery. 2019 Nov;166(5):861–866.
Journal cover image

Published In

Surgery

DOI

EISSN

1532-7361

Publication Date

November 2019

Volume

166

Issue

5

Start / End Page

861 / 866

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Treatment Outcome
  • Surgery
  • Severity of Illness Index
  • Obesity, Morbid
  • Middle Aged
  • Metabolic Syndrome
  • Male
  • Lactic Acid
  • Humans
  • Gastric Bypass