High mannose correlates with surrogate indexes of insulin resistance and is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events independently of glycaemic status and traditional risk factors

Objective: To explore the associations between mannose, indexes of insulin resistance (IR) and secretion and long-term cardiovascular outcomes.

Research Design and Methods: Fasting mannose was assayed in 1403 participants, half of which had a first myocardial infarction (MI), with either normal glucose tolerance (n=1045) or newly detected dysglycaemia (i.e., impaired glucose tolerance or type 2 diabetes; n=358). Regression models were used to explore mannose associations with surrogate indexes of IR/insulin secretion. Multivariate Cox models were used to investigate the independent association between “high” (higher quartile) vs. “low” (lower three quartiles) mannose and major adverse cardiac events (MACE, N=163) during 10-year follow-up.

Results: Mannose was independentely associated with IR indexes (all p≤0.001). High vs. low mannose was independentely associated with MACE (hazard ratio: 1.54, 95% confidence interval 1.07-2.20) in the overall population.

Conclusions: Mannose might represent a new biomarker able to track early, potentially detrimental glucometabolic alterations, independently of glycaemic state.