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. 2024 Apr 25;24(1):324.
doi: 10.1186/s12888-024-05773-5.

Alterations in the fecal microbiota of methamphetamine users with bad sleep quality during abstinence

Zijing Deng  1   2 , Linzi Liu  1   2 , Wen Liu  1   2 , Ruina Liu  3 , Tao Ma  1   2 , Yide Xin  1 , Yu Xie  1 , Yifan Zhang  1   2 , Yifang Zhou  1   2 , Yanqing Tang  4
Affiliations

Alterations in the fecal microbiota of methamphetamine users with bad sleep quality during abstinence

Zijing Deng et al. BMC Psychiatry. .

Abstract

Background: Methamphetamine (MA) abuse has resulted in a plethora of social issues. Sleep disturbance is a prominent issue about MA addiction, which serve as a risk factor for relapse, and the gut microbiota could play an important role in the pathophysiological mechanisms of sleep disturbances. Therefore, improving sleep quality can be beneficial for treating methamphetamine addiction, and interventions addressing the gut microbiota may represent a promising approach.

Method: We recruited 70 MA users to investigate the associations between sleep quality and fecal microbiota by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), which was divided into MA-GS (PSQI score < 7, MA users with good sleep quality, n = 49) and MA-BS group (PSQI score ≥ 7, MA users with bad sleep quality, n = 21). In addition, we compared the gut microbiota between the MA-GS and healthy control (HC, n = 38) groups. 16S rRNA sequencing was applied to identify the gut bacteria.

Result: The study revealed that the relative abundances of the Thermoanaerobacterales at the order level differed between the MA-GS and MA-BS groups. Additionally, a positive correlation was found between the relative abundance of the genus Sutterella and daytime dysfunction. Furthermore, comparisons between MA users and HCs revealed differences in beta diversity and relative abundances of various bacterial taxa.

Conclusion: In conclusion, the study investigated alterations in the gut microbiota among MA users. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the genus Sutterella changes may be associated with daytime dysfunction, suggesting that the genus Sutterella may be a biomarker for bad sleep quality in MA users.

Keywords: Gut microbiota; Methamphetamine; Microbiota-gut-brain axis; Sleep quality.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The beta diversity of the bacterial communities. Note: MA-GS, MA users with good sleep quality; MA-BS, MA users with bad sleep quality; HC-GS, healthy controls with good sleep quality
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
The top 10 of average gut microbiota relative abundance and the relative abundance about Thermoanaerobacterales between MA-GS and MA-BS group. Note: The top 10 of average gut microbiota relative abundance between MA-GS and MA-BS group at the phylum level (A) and the genus level (B). (C) The relative abundance about Thermoanaerobacterales between MA-GS and MA-BS group at order level. MA-GS, MA users with good sleep quality; MA-BS, MA users with bad sleep quality. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
The taxa significant differences and the cladogram between MA-GS and MA-BS group. Note: (A) The taxa significant differences (LDA score > 2.0 and p < 0.05) between MA-GS and MA-BS group were detected by the LEfSe analysis. (B) The cladogram shows the differential taxa between the MA-GS and MA-BS group found in the LEfSe analysis. MA-GS, MA users with good sleep quality; MA-BS, MA users with bad sleep quality. P, phylum; c, class; o, order; f, family; g, genus
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
The partial spearman correlation between relative abundance of signature the gut microbiota and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) scores in MA-BS group. Note: P1, sleep quality; P2, sleep latency; P3, sleep duration; P4, habitual sleep efficiency; P5, sleep disturbance; P6, use of sleeping medication; P7, and daytime dysfunction; TS, total scores. MA-BS, MA users with bad sleep quality. P, phylum; c, class; o, order; f, family; g, genus. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001
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