Gut Microbiota Changes and Their Relationship with Inflammation in Patients with Acute and Chronic Insomnia

• Published in: Nature and science of sleep Vol. 12; pp. 895 - 905
• Main Authors: Li, Yuanyuan, Zhang, Bin, Zhou, Ya, Wang, Daoming, Liu, Xianchen, Li, Lin, Wang, Tong, Zhang, Yuechu, Jiang, Min, Tang, Huilan, Amsel, Lawrence V, Fan, Fang, Hoven, Christina W
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New Zealand Dove Medical Press Limited 01.01.2020; Taylor & Francis Ltd; Dove; Dove Medical Press
• Subjects: Abdomen; acute insomnia; Bacteria; Care and treatment; chronic insomnia; Comparative analysis; Cytokines; Demographics; Deoxyribonucleic acid; Diabetes; Diet; Digestive system; DNA; EDTA; Fatty acids; Feces; gut microbiome; Gut microbiota; Health aspects; Inflammation; inflammatory cytokines; Insomnia; Mental disorders; Microbiota; Microbiota (Symbiotic organisms); Original Research; Patients; Questionnaires; random forest; Sleep; Tumor necrosis factor-TNF; Variance analysis; China; United States > US; chronic insomnia; gut microbiome; inflammatory cytokines; random forest; acute insomnia
• ISSN: 1179-1608; 1179-1608
• DOI: 10.2147/NSS.S271927

The major purpose of this study was to detect the changes in gut microbiota composition and inflammatory cytokines production associated with acute and chronic insomnia. This study also evaluated the relationship between gut microbiota changes and increased inflammatory cytokines in insomnia patients. Outpatients with acute and chronic insomnia (aged 26-55 years; n=20 and 38, respectively) and age/gender-matched healthy controls (n=38) were recruited from a southern China region. Participants' gut microbiome, plasma cytokines, and self-reported sleep quality and psychopathological symptoms were measured. The gut microbiomes of insomnia patients compared with healthy controls were characterized by lower microbial richness and diversity, depletion of anaerobes, and short-chain fatty acid (SCFA)-producing bacteria, and an expansion of potential pathobionts. and were signature bacteria for distinguishing acute insomnia patients from healthy controls, while and were signature bacteria for distinguishing chronic insomnia patients from healthy controls. Acute/chronic insomnia-related signature bacteria also showed correlations with these patients' self-reported sleep quality and plasma IL-1β. These findings suggest that insomnia symptomology, gut microbiota, and inflammation may be interrelated in complex ways. Gut microbiota may serve as an important indicator for auxiliary diagnosis of insomnia and provide possible new therapeutic targets in the field of sleep disorders.