Data_Sheet_1_An exploratory study of pro-inflammatory cytokines in individuals with alcohol use disorder: MCP-1 and IL-8 associated with alcohol consumption, sleep quality, anxiety, depression, and liver biomarkers.docx

BackgroundHigh levels of sleep disturbances reported among individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD) can stimulate inflammatory gene expression, and in turn, may alter pro-inflammatory cytokines levels. We aimed to investigate associations between pro-inflammatory cytokine markers with subjective measures of sleep quality, psychological variables and alcohol consumption among individuals with AUD.MethodsThis exploratory study is comprised of individuals with AUD (n = 50) and healthy volunteers (n = 14). Spearman correlation was used to investigate correlations between plasma cytokine levels and clinical variables of interest (liver and inflammatory markers, sleep quality, patient reported anxiety/depression scores, and presence of mood and/or anxiety disorders (DSM IV/5); and history of alcohol use variables.ResultsThe AUD group was significantly older, with poorer sleep quality, higher anxiety/depression scores, and higher average drinks per day as compared to controls. Within the AUD group, IL-8 and MCP-1 had positive significant correlations with sleep, anxiety, depression and drinking variables. Specifically, higher levels of MCP-1 were associated with poorer sleep (p = 0.004), higher scores of anxiety (p = 0.006) and depression (p < 0.001), and higher number of drinking days (p = 0.002), average drinks per day (p < 0.001), heavy drinking days (p < 0.001) and total number of drinks (p < 0.001). The multiple linear regression model for MCP-1 showed that after controlling for sleep status and heavy drinking days, older participants (p = 0.003) with more drinks per day (p = 0.016), and higher alkaline phosphatase level (p = 0.001) had higher MCP-1 level.ConclusionThis exploratory analysis revealed associations with cytokines MCP-1 and IL-8 and drinking consumption, sleep quality, and anxiety and depression in the AUD group. Furthermore, inflammatory and liver markers were highly correlated with certain pro-inflammatory cytokines in the AUD group suggesting a possible relationship between chronic alcohol use and inflammation. These associations may contribute to prolonged inflammatory responses and potentially higher risk of co-morbid chronic diseases.

在酒精使用障碍（AUD）患者中，报告的睡眠障碍高发水平可刺激炎症基因的表达，进而可能改变促炎细胞因子的水平。本研究旨在探讨促炎细胞因子标志物与睡眠质量的主观测量、心理变量以及酒精消费之间的关联。方法：本项探索性研究包括酒精使用障碍患者（n = 50）和健康志愿者（n = 14）。采用Spearman相关分析研究了血浆细胞因子水平与感兴趣的临床变量（肝脏和炎症标志物、睡眠质量、患者报告的焦虑/抑郁评分，以及情绪和/或焦虑障碍（DSM IV/5）的存在；以及酒精使用史变量）之间的相关性。结果：与对照者相比，AUD组患者的年龄显著较大，睡眠质量较差，焦虑/抑郁评分较高，平均每日饮酒量也较高。在AUD组内，IL-8和MCP-1与睡眠、焦虑、抑郁和饮酒变量呈显著正相关。具体而言，MCP-1水平较高与睡眠质量较差（p = 0.004）、焦虑评分较高（p = 0.006）和抑郁评分较高（p < 0.001），以及饮酒天数较多（p = 0.002）、平均每日饮酒量较高（p < 0.001）、重饮酒天数较多（p < 0.001）和总饮酒量较多（p < 0.001）相关。MCP-1的多线性回归模型显示，在控制睡眠状况和重饮酒天数后，年龄较大的参与者（p = 0.003）和每日饮酒量较多的参与者（p = 0.016），以及碱性磷酸酶水平较高的参与者（p = 0.001）具有更高的MCP-1水平。结论：本项探索性分析揭示了在AUD组中，MCP-1和IL-8细胞因子与饮酒消费、睡眠质量以及焦虑和抑郁之间的关联。此外，炎症和肝脏标志物与AUD组中某些促炎细胞因子高度相关，这表明长期饮酒与炎症之间可能存在某种关系。这些关联可能导致持续的炎症反应，并可能增加共病慢性疾病的风险。