The Effects of Hydration on Gut Health and Thinking (WatUP)

Investigating the Effects of Increased Water Consumption on Markers of Gut Health, Microbiota, and Executive Function

The central hypothesis is that improving hydration through increased water consumption will change the relative abundance of mucolytic bacteria found in the stool. Therefore the specific aims are 1) to quantify intervention effects on fecal microbiota relative abundance and plasma lipopolysaccharide binding protein, 2) observe the effects of the intervention on bowel frequency and signs/symptoms of gastrointestinal stress, and 3) to investigate relations between executive function and hydration status.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Cognitive Change; Dehydration; Gastrointestinal Microbiota
• Intervention / Treatment: Dietary supplement: Water Intake

Detailed Description

A single arm 3-week hydration intervention will be employed where participants increase their water consumption to 2 (F) or 2.5(M) liters per day which is approximately 70% of the AI for daily water consumption. Pre-test and follow-up measures of fecal microbiota, urinary hydration status, cognitive function, circulating markers, and dietary intake will be assessed at baseline and at 3-week follow up via laboratory visits.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 23
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Illinois
    • Urbana, Illinois, United States, 61801
      • University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 19 years to 50 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• 19-50 years of age
• 18.5-34.49 kg/m2
• 24-hour UOsm above 500 mOsm/kg
• No antibiotic use over the past 3 months
• Absence of metabolic diseases and use of diuretics
• Agree to maintain typical diet intake (e.g., dietary fiber) patterns during intervention
• Avoid consuming prebiotic and probiotic supplements during study participation
• Not pregnant
• Agree to follow the study protocol

Exclusion Criteria:

• <19 or >50 years of age
• <18.5 or >34.49 kg/m2
• 24-hour UOsm <500 mOsm/kg
• Antibiotic use over the past 3 months
• Metabolic diseases and use of diuretics
• Not agree to maintain typical diet intake (e.g., dietary fiber) patterns for the duration of the
• intervention
• Not agree with avoiding consuming prebiotic and probiotic supplements during study participation
• Pregnant
• Not agree to follow study protocol

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Water Intake; 3-week intervention period during which articipants will be asked to increase their daily plain water consumption to at least 2.5 L/d of water for males and 2L/d for females.	Dietary supplement: Water Intake; Participants will increase plain water consumption to at least 70% of the daily adequate intake for Americans depending on their sex.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Fecal microbiota relative abundance	changes in the relative abundance of fecal microbiota	3 weeks (baseline vs. follow-up)
Plasma lipopolysaccharide (LPS)	changes in circulating LPS	3 weeks (baseline vs. follow-up)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Copeptin	changes in plasma copeptin concentration	3 weeks (baseline vs. follow-up)
24hr Urine Osmolality	changes in osmolality (mOsmol/kg) of urine samples	3 weeks (baseline vs. follow-up)
Attentional accuracy	Accuracy (%) on a computerized flanker task	3 weeks (baseline vs. follow-up)
Attentional Reaction Time	Reaction time (ms) on a computerized flanker task	3 weeks (baseline vs. follow-up)
Attentional processing speed	P3 event related potential latency (ms) using a computerized flanker task	3 weeks (baseline vs. follow-up)
24hr Urine Specific Gravity	changes in specific gravity (USG) of urine samples	3 weeks (baseline vs. follow-up)

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• Collaborators: Division of Nutritional Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): August 23, 2021
• Primary Completion (Actual): July 29, 2022
• Study Completion (Actual): July 29, 2022

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: October 1, 2021
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 6, 2022
• First Posted (Actual): April 7, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): January 11, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 10, 2024
• Last Verified: January 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pathologic Processes; Metabolic Diseases; Water-Electrolyte Imbalance; Dehydration
• Other Study ID Numbers: WatUP

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

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