Longitudinal gut microbiome changes in alcohol use disorder are influenced by abstinence and drinking quantity.

Many patients with alcohol use disorder (AUD) consume alcohol chronically and in large amounts that alter intestinal microbiota, damage the gastrointestinal tract, and thereby injure other organs via malabsorption and intestinal inflammation. We hypothesized that alcohol consumption and subsequent abstinence would change the gut microbiome in adults admitted to a treatment program. Stool and oral specimens, diet data, gastrointestinal assessment scores, anxiety, depression measures and drinking amounts were collected longitudinally for up to 4 weeks in 22 newly abstinent inpatients with AUD who were dichotomized as less heavy drinkers (LHD, <10 drinks/d) and very heavy drinkers (VHD, 10 or more drinks/d). Next-generation 16 S rRNA gene sequencing was performed to measure the gut and oral microbiome at up to ten time points/subject and LHD and VHD were compared for change in principal components, Shannon diversity index and specific genera. The first three principal components explained 46.7% of the variance in gut microbiome diversity across time and all study subjects, indicating the change in gut microbiome following abstinence. The first time point was an outlier in three-dimensional principal component space versus all other time points. The gut microbiota in LHD and VHD were significantly dissimilar in change from day 1 to day 5 (p = .03) and from day 1 to week 3 (p = .02). The VHD drinking group displayed greater change from baseline. The Shannon diversity index of the gut microbiome changed significantly during abstinence in five participants. In both groups, the Shannon diversity was lower in the oral microbiome than gut. Ten total genera were shared between oral and stool in the AUD participants. These data were compared with healthy controls from the Human Microbiome Project to investigate the concept of a core microbiome. Rapid changes in gut microbiome following abstinence from alcohol suggest resilience of the gut microbiome in AUD and reflects the benefits of refraining from the highest levels of alcohol and potential benefits of abstinence.

Adults with alcohol use disorder may overreport dietary intake using the 1-year Diet History Questionnaire II.

Minimal recent research explores how alcohol use disorder (AUD) affects dietary intake during periods of alcohol consumption. Therefore, we aimed to assess the feasibility and utility of a computerized food frequency questionnaire, the Diet History Questionnaire II (DHQ II), to quantify dietary intake in adults with AUD. Participants were adult men and women seeking treatment for AUD at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center. Participants (N = 21) were enrolled in an observational study examining the microbiome in AUD. The Web-based DHQ II, reflecting dietary intake over the past year, was administered to participants within 2 weeks of admission to an inpatient alcohol rehabilitation program. Descriptive data are reported as mean ±â€¯SEM. Analyses were run in the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, and P < .05 was considered significant. Participants (67% male) were 46.3 ±â€¯2.8 years old with a body mass index of 23.8 ±â€¯0.6 kg/m2. Average energy intake was 27961.7 ±â€¯3205.8 kj, alcohol intake was 4723.0 ±â€¯75.8 g (45% kcal), carbohydrate intake was 514.3 ±â€¯66.8 g (31% kcal), fat intake was 101.2 ±â€¯13.6 g (16% kcal), and protein intake was 122.8 ±â€¯17.0 g (8% kcal). In this population of adults with AUD, DHQ II results showed energy and micronutrient intakes that were higher than, but macronutrient distribution that was similar to, previous findings in similar populations.