Behaviors and Mental Disorders

All Conditions

Alcohol Drinking

Drinking Behavior

Anti-Infective Agents

Central Nervous System Depressants

All Drugs and Chemicals

Ethanol

Alcohol consumption is a risk factor for numerous health conditions and an important cause of death. Identifying metabolites associated with alcohol consumption may provide insights into the metabolic pathways through which alcohol may affect human health. The objective of this study is to investigate associations of alcohol consumption with circulating concentrations of 123 metabolites including amino acids, acylcarnitines, hexoses, biogenic amines, phosphatidylcholines, and sphingomyelins. For this purpose, the investigators use data from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study and applied a discovery and replication approach.

This study used data from 2,974 control participants from four case-control studies on colorectal (n=491), hepatobiliary (n=327), kidney (n=635), and prostate cancer (n=1,521) nested in the EPIC cohort, for which targeted metabolomics data had been acquired. Alcohol consumption at recruitment was self-reported through dietary questionnaires. Metabolite concentrations were measured by tandem mass spectrometry using the BIOCRATES AbsoluteIDQTM p180 kit. Data were randomly divided into discovery (2/3) and replication (1/3) sets. Multivariable linear regression models were used to evaluate confounder-adjusted associations of ln-transformed alcohol consumption with Z-standardized ln-transformed residual metabolite concentrations. Metabolites significantly related to alcohol intake in the discovery set (FDR q-value\<0.05) were further tested in the replication set (Bonferroni-corrected p-value\<0.05). Of the 72 metabolites significantly related to alcohol intake in the discovery set, 34 metabolites were also significant in the replication analysis, including three acylcarnitines, the amino acid citrulline, four lysophosphatidylcholines, 13 diacylphosphatidylcholines, seven acyl-alkylphosphatidylcholines, and six sphingomyelins. Associations with acylcarnitines and phosphatidylcholines were generally positive, while mostly inverse associations were observed with citrulline and sphingomyelins.

This study adds novel knowledge regarding circulating metabolites associated with alcohol consumption, and provides leads for further studies into the underlying biological mechanisms. A better understanding of metabolic pathways affected by alcohol consumption may contribute to the development of mechanism-tailored intervention strategies to prevent and treat alcohol-related conditions. Furthermore, it may help to identify biomarkers of alcohol consumption facilitating early preventive strategies in individuals at-risk for developing alcohol-related morbidities.

Alcohol Consumption and Circulating Metabolites

Circulating Metabolites Associated With Alcohol Intake in the European Prospective Investigation Into Cancer and Nutrition Cohort

Blood concentrations of 123 metabolites including amino acids, acylcarnitines, hexoses, biogenic amines, phosphatidylcholines, and sphingomyelins (BIOCRATES AbsoluteIDQTM p180 kit).

Maastricht University

Imperial College London

Danish Cancer Society

University of Aarhus

Centre for Research in Epidemiology and Population Health (CESP)

Gustave Roussy, Cancer Campus, Grand Paris

German Cancer Research Center

German Institute of Human Nutrition

Hellenic Health Foundation

Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milano

ISPO Cancer Prevention and Research Institute

Federico II University

HuGeF Foundation

Azienda Sanitaria Provinciale Ragusa

University of Tromso

Catalan Institute of Oncology, Barcelona

Ministry of Health - Government of the Principality of Asturias

Andalusian School of Public Health

Universidad de Murcia

Instituto de Salud Pública Gobierno de Navarra

Subdirección de Salud Pública de Gipuzkoa

Skane University Hospital

Umeå University

MORGEN-EPIC, Bilthoven

Prospect-EPIC, Utrecht

University of Oxford

University of Cambridge

International Agency for Research on Cancer

Study title	NCT ID	Conditions	Eligibility	Organization
Alcohol Consumption and Circulating Metabolites	NCT03402568	No Condition, F...	30 Years - 70 Years	International Agency for Research on Cancer
Alcohol Consumption and Circulating Metabolites	NCT03402568	No Condition, F...	30 Years - 70 Years	International Agency for Research on Cancer
Alcohol Consumption and Circulating Metabolites	NCT03402568	No Condition, F...	30 Years - 70 Years	International Agency for Research on Cancer

Spots Global Cancer Trial Database for no condition, focus: metabolites of alcohol consumption