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BACKGROUND: Animal experiments and studies in alcohol dependent patients indicate that ghrelin signaling in the brain is causally involved in the regulation of alcohol reward and intake. Increasing ghrelin levels enhances alcohol craving and intake, blocking ghrelin receptors abolishes these effects. If ghrelin is also involved in non-dependent alcohol consumption in humans, though, remains unknown. The aim was therefore to investigate the relationship between ghrelin serum levels and alcohol consumption in a large population-based sample. METHODS: Total ghrelin was determined after an overnight fast in 1666 subjects participating in a population-based cross-sectional study ('LIFE') including 10,000 adults. 1521 subjects were included in this analysis. Alcohol consumption was assessed using a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Multiple linear regression analyses and extreme group comparisons testing for statistical differences of alcohol consumption between the highest and lowest quartile according to ghrelin levels were performed. RESULTS: Alcohol consumption was positively associated with serum ghrelin; total sample: beta = 0.003, p = 0.002; men: beta = 0.005, p = 0.023; women: beta = 0.002, p = 0.007, adjusted for age, BMI and smoking status. Mean alcohol consumption in men/women belonging to the highest quartile of serum ghrelin levels (men: 21.5 (21.1) g/day; women: 7.5 (11.4) g/day) was considerably higher than in those belonging to the lowest quartile (men: 16.5 (19.3) g/day p < 0.002; women: 4.59 (10.7) g/day p = 0.0001). CONCLUSION: This is the first study showing that alcohol consumption is positively associated with serum ghrelin in a population-based sample. The study provides an initial indication that ghrelin is also involved in the regulation of alcohol consumption in non-dependent subjects.

Authors: D. A. Wittekind, J. Kratzsch, R. Mergl, C. Enzenbach, A. V. Witte, A. Villringer, M. Kluge

Date Published: 22nd Jul 2018

Publication Type: Not specified

Human Diseases: alcohol dependence

Abstract (Expand)

OBJECTIVES: Although patients with depression often suffer from sleep disturbances, most of them are not sleepy. Upregulation of brain arousal has been proposed as pathophysiological mechanism explaining sleep disturbances, inner tension, autonomic hyperarousal and anhedonia in depression. The aim of the current study was to examine the association between night-time sleep disturbances and brain arousal regulation the next day in depressed versus non-depressed subjects. METHODS: Twenty-eight elderly subjects (21 female; age = 70.5 +/- 4.4 years) with depressive syndromes without psychotropic medication, and 28 controls (22 female; age = 70.9 +/- 4.5 years), underwent a 15-min resting electroencephalogram; the Vigilance Algorithm Leipzig (VIGALL 2.1) provided an objective measure of brain arousal regulation. Sleep disturbances were assessed by a validated and self-rated sleep questionnaire. RESULTS: In the depressive group, but not in controls, more sleep disturbances were associated with a higher brain arousal stability score (high score corresponds to upregulation) the next day (sleep onset latency: rs = 0.69, P < .0001; sleep quality: rs = -0.59, P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: The data confirm the hypothesis that in persons with depressive syndromes sleep disturbances are related to upregulation of brain arousal the next day. This finding is in line with the concept that dysregulation of brain arousal is a central pathophysiological aspect in depression.

Authors: C. Ulke, C. Sander, P. Jawinski, N. Mauche, J. Huang, J. Spada, D. Wittekind, R. Mergl, T. Luck, S. Riedel-Heller, T. Hensch, U. Hegerl

Date Published: 25th Aug 2016

Publication Type: Journal article

Human Diseases: mental depression

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