Environmental Factors and the Gut Microbiome - Endocannabinoid Axis (eMECA)

The Influence of Host Environmental Factors on the Gut Microbiome - Endocannabinoid Axis in Metabolic and Mental Health

The general objective of this project is to investigate the interplay of the gut microbiome - endocannabinoid axis with host environmental factors and intestinal, metabolic and mental health status in free-living adults with various metabolic statuses and lifestyles.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Mental Health Wellness 1; Food Habits; Intestinal Disease; Energy Metabolism

Detailed Description

The gut microbiome and the endocannabinoid system (ECS) could be interacting together and influence local enteric and peripheral metabolic functions and mental health.

The association of some host environmental factors (e.g. age, metabolic status, dietary habits) with gut microbiota composition and function has been investigated but, to our knowledge, little is known about their influence on the ECS.

There is also a need to better understand the influence of these factors and the interplay between the gut microbiota and the ECS and their relationship with intestinal, metabolic and mental health.

The investigators therefore propose to fill this knowledge-gap in the general population of adults with various body composition, dietary habits and daily physical activity levels.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 204

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Canada
  • Quebec
    • Québec, Quebec, Canada, G1V 0A6
      • Institut sur la nutrition et les aliments fonctionnels - INAF

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Free-living adults with various body composition, dietary habits and daily physical activity levels from the Quebec city region.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Computer and internet access
• Understanding of written French

Exclusion Criteria:

• Intestinal pathologies
• Pregnancy or breast-feeding
• Recent significant weight variations
• Recent completion of antibiotic treatment
• Alcohol consumption over sex-specific recommendations

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Observational Models: Ecologic or Community
• Time Perspectives: Prospective

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Evaluation of the influence of dietary habits assessed via Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) on the relationship between gut microbiota composition and circulating endocannabinoids	FFQ items will be used to identify dietary habits by unsupervised clustering to evaluate their association with gut microbiota composition obtained from ribosomal RNA sequencing and plasma endocannabinoid (e.g. Arachidonoylethanolamide, 2 arachidonoyl glycerol and their derivatives) concentrations.	September 2018

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Evaluation of the effect of adiposity assessed by Dual-energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA) scan on the relationship between gut microbiota composition and circulating endocannabinoids.	The effect of adiposity measured by DXA scan on the relationship between gut microbiota composition and diversity obtained from ribosomal RNA sequencing and plasma endocannabinoids (e.g. Arachidonoylethanolamide, 2 arachidonoyl glycerol and their derivatives) will be investigated.	September 2018
Evaluation of the effect of fasting glycemia on the relationship between gut microbiota composition and circulating endocannabinoids.	The effect of fasting glycemia, used to infer metabolic status, on the relationship between gut microbiota composition and diversity obtained from ribosomal RNA sequencing and plasma endocannabinoids (e.g. Arachidonoylethanolamide, 2 arachidonoyl glycerol and their derivatives) will be investigated.	September 2018
Evaluation of the effect of fasting triglyceridemia on the relationship between gut microbiota composition and circulating endocannabinoids.	The effect of fasting triglyceridemia, used to infer metabolic status, on the relationship between gut microbiota composition and diversity obtained from ribosomal RNA sequencing and plasma endocannabinoids (e.g. Arachidonoylethanolamide, 2 arachidonoyl glycerol and their derivatives) will be investigated.	September 2018

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Laval University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Alain Veilleux, PhD, Laval University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): February 13, 2018
• Primary Completion (Actual): September 30, 2018
• Study Completion (Actual): December 30, 2018

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 20, 2018
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 6, 2018
• First Posted (Actual): March 13, 2018

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): February 28, 2020
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 27, 2020
• Last Verified: February 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Gut Microbiota; Metabolic health; endocannabinoide; Gastrointestinal health; Mental wellbeing
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Digestive System Diseases; Gastrointestinal Diseases; Intestinal Diseases
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2017-328

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: Undecided

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No