Impulsivity among healthy adults is associated with diet and fecal microbiota composition

Abstract

Impulsivity is an important personality trait that has been associated with unhealthy dietary choices and higher alcohol consumption. In turn, both diet and alcohol can affect gut microbiota composition, which has been recently linked with mental health. Although a few studies have explored the relationship between personality traits and gut microbiota, the interplay between trait impulsivity, diet, and gut microbiota remains underexplored. In the present cross-sectional study, we examine the relationship between impulsivity, diet, and fecal microbiota composition in the LORA (Longitudinal Resilience Assessment) cohort, which included participants of the general population (N = 913), without any lifetime diagnosis of mental disorder and no major disease. Fecal samples were analyzed using 16S ribosomal RNA amplicon sequencing, and trait impulsivity was assessed using the UPPS (Urgency-Premeditation-Perseverance-Sensation seeking) questionnaire. UPPS facets were associated with consumption of alcohol, sugary drinks, fruits, vegetables and fiber but not with meat. All the dietary components were associated with overall fecal microbiota composition as determined by beta diversity analyses, but no associations were detected for any of the four UPPS facets. Per genus analysis revealed associations of urgency with three bacterial taxa, premediation with four bacterial taxa and sensation seeking with one bacterial taxon. Notably, the genera Butyricicoccus and Lachnospiraceae UCG-001 that were negatively associated with urgency were also associated with healthier dietary patterns such as higher fiber, fruits and vegetables consumption and with lower consumption of sugary drinks. Furthermore the bacterium Eubacterium siraeum that was associated with higher sensation seeking, was also associated with more frequent alcohol consumption. Overall, our results suggest that impulsivity in neurotypical adults is associated with dietary choices and the relative abundances of specific gut bacteria.

Fig. 1. Associations between UPPS facets and dietary components.

Associations between A Alcohol, B sugary drinks, C fiber, D fruits, E vegetables and F meat consumption with the four different UPPS facets, using ordinal regression models, controlling for age, sex, BMI, medication and education. Circles represent regression coefficient, lines the 95% odds ratio and asterisks indicate p-values. Odds ratios above one indicate more frequent consumption and odds ratios below one less frequent consumption. Significance is indicated with *p < 0.05, ** p< 0.01 and ***p<0.001 .

Fig. 2. Results from univariate PERMANOVA analyses using Aitchison distances.

Horizontal bars show the amount of variance (R²) explained by each covariate in univariate models as determined by PERMANOVA tests. Significant covariates (p-value < 0.05) are indicated in light green color, all the tests were performed with 999 bootstraps.

Fig. 3. The relation between gut microbiota with UPPS facets and diet.

A Bacterial genera significantly associated with the UPPS-urgency, B UPPS-premeditation and C UPPS-sensation seeking. D Heatmap representing the significant associations between gut microbiota and dietary components. Models were adjusted for age, BMI, sex, antibiotics, education and medication. The options for each dietary components were ordered in ascending order, “never/monthly”, ”weekly”, and” daily”, hence a positive association indicate more frequent consumption of the dietary component.

Fig. 4. Dietary components as a mediator between UPPS facets and gut microbiota.

Results from the mediation analysis, testing for the mediation effect of dietary components on the relationship between UPPS-facets and gut microbiota. A. Consumption of alcohol as a mediator between UPPS-sensation seeking and the bacterial taxa Eubacterium siraeum. B. Consumption of fiber as a mediator between UPPS-urgency and the bacterial taxa Butyricicoccus. Consumption of sugary drinks as a mediator between UPPS-urgency and the bacterial taxa C. Lachnospiraceae UCG-001 and D. Butyricicoccus. Coefficients from each model are reported next to the arrows, with the letters a and b. Letters c' and c represent the coefficient with and without the mediator in the model, respectively. ACME: average causal mediated effect, ADE: average direct effect. Significance is indicated with ^*p < 0.05, ^**p < 0.01, ^***p < 0.001.