Alcohol Consumption and Circulating Metabolites
Condition: No Condition, Focus: Metabolites of Alcohol Consumption
MeSH terms: Alcohol Drinking
Study type: Observational

Summary: 
      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.
    

Detailed description: 
      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.
    

Observational model: Cohort
Time perspective: Cross-Sectional
Sampling method: Probability Sample
Study population: 
        Over 520,000 healthy men and women aged 25-85 were enrolled between 1992 and 2000 across 23
        EPIC centres in 10 European countries including Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy,
        the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

        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.
      
Biospecimen description: 
      serum and citrate plasma blood samples
    
Keywords: alcohol; targeted metabolomics; lipid metabolites; amino acids; acylcarnitines