Background: Branched chain amino acids are classified as essential amino acids, their role in metabolic disease has recently been established. The current research sort to identify the correlation of BCAAs with severity of coronary artery disease in diabetics and non-diabetics.

Aim: To measure and compare blood levels of BCAAs in the following groups of subjects: Diabetics and Non diabetics undergoing angiography under the clinical suspicion of coronary artery disease. Secondly, to correlate serum BCAA levels with Coronary Artery Disease severity by using Gensini Score in each group.

Methods: 119 patients who underwent angiography were recruited from cardiology department Mayo hospital, Lahore. They were allocated into two groups, diabetic and non-diabetic on the basis of HBA1c. 5 ml blood was collected, serum was separated and BCAA levels were measured by using internationally available calorimetric kit. Results were described as mean ± SD. Normality of continuous variables were assessed by using Shapiro Wilks test. Variables which were not normally distributed were log transformed.

Results: Over all three factors affected BCAA levels; age (Beta= -0.32, p <0.001), male gender (Beta=-0.32, p=<0.001) and diabetic status (Beta=-0.20, p=0.03). Significant factors affecting severity of CAD as indicated by Gensini score were BMI (p=0.016, Beta=-0.22) and age (p=0.019, Beta=0.23). Factors determining the likely diabetes in CAD patients were male gender (p=0.013, Odds ratio 4.92s), BCAA levels (p=0.03, Odds ratio 1.05), age (p=0.01, odds ratio=1.08) and Gensini Score (p=0.05, odds ratio=1.013).

Conclusions In CAD patient’s serum BCAA level are affected by age, male gender and diabetes status. Secondly the severity CAD is mainly affected by BMI and age. However the correlation between Gensini score and BCAA is not significant.

Keywords: Coronary artery disease, branched chain amino acids, diabetic, serum level