Nutrition, Gut Microbiota and Health : Feces Sample Collection in NutriNet-Santé Participants (NUTRIGUT)

The gut microbiota is currently attracting increasing attention from the scientific community and also from the general public, as evidence of its role in human physiology has been highlighted. Microbial signatures have also been associated with various pathologies (e.g. obesity, diabetes, gastrointestinal disorders, neurodegenerative diseases), but the causality of these associations is still uncertain. Among the factors that may influence the composition of the gut microbiota (e.g. lifestyle, hygiene, medication, genetics, environment), nutrition would a major role. The major changes in lifestyle and diet observed over recent decades are strongly suspected of disrpting the host-gut microbiota balance.

In addition to their nutrient content, our diets also contain other bioactive compounds (e.g. polyphenols) and raise new issues (e.g. temporal structure of diets, food processing, presence of additives or contaminants such as pesticide residues, intake of dietary supplements, dietary exclusions, glycemic index) that is necessary to take into account. Thus, it is mandatory to explore and characterize in a more precise way, within large samples consisting of individuals with varied characteristics, the way in which the composition of the gut microbiota is influenced by the host's diet and its health consequences.

The aim of this research is therefore to study the links between nutrition, gut microbiota profiles and health. To do this, the research will implement large-scale stool sample collection from participants in the NutriNet-Santé cohort ("Nutrinautes"), thus constituting a "microbiota" sub-cohort.

A target of N=10,000 participants in the NutriNet-Santé cohort will be recruited on a voluntary basis. A selection will then be made among Nutrinautes willing to participate in the research (which may be more numerous than necessary) to maximize the diversity of profiles. Participants will be informed of their selection or non-selection by e-mail. A second stool sample will also be collected 2-3 months after the first for a sub-sample of N=300 to assess intra-individual variability in microbiota profiles. The selected participants will receive a stool self-sampling kit with detailed instructions by post to their home address. The pseudonymized samples will be returned by mail by the participant to the processing laboratory, which will determine their gut microbiota characteristics by 16S rDNA sequencing and/or " shotgun " sequencing. The gut microbiota profiles will then be analyzed in a pseudonymised manner in association with diet and health, using data collected as part of the NutriNet-Santé cohort follow-up (e.g. food consumption, prevalence and incidence of pathologies, biological data, anthropometric characteristics, medication intake, socio-demographic characteristics, lifestyle).

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Gut Microbiome
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: sampling stool

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 10000
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Mathilde Touvier; Phone Number: 01.48.38.89.33; Email: m.touvier@eren.smbh.univ-paris13.fr

Study Locations

• France
  • Bobigny, France
    • Recruiting
    • EREN SMBH Université Sorbonne Paris Nord
    • Contact: Mathilde, Touvier; Phone Number: 01.48.38.89.33; Email: m.touvier@eren.smbh.univ-paris13.fr

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Participant in the NutriNet-Santé cohort
• Age ≥ 18 years
• Resident of metropolitan France
• Written comprehension frenc

Exclusion Criteria:

• Person subject to a safeguard of justice measure
• Person belonging to one of the categories of vulnerable persons
• Diagnosis of COVID-19 (clinically or by PCR) in the month prior to collection
• Contact with a COVID-19 patient in the month prior to collection
• Suspicion of COVID-19 in the month preceding collection (clinical signs of infection : fever associated with headache, respiratory signs, os anosmia/ageusia)

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Other
• 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: stool sampling; The research consists in collecting stool samples from a sub-sample of participants already included in the NutriNet-Santé cohort. The stool collection will enable us to study the characteristics of the intestinal microbiota in relation to nutrition on the one hand, and health on the other, based on data collected during participation in the NutriNet-Santé cohort.	Other: sampling stool; Participants will receive a self-sampling stool kit with detailed instructions by mail to their home address. Samples will be mailed back by the participant to the treatment laboratory, which will determine the characteristics of their intestinal microbiota.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Characterization of gut microbiota profile by 16S r RNA gene sequencing	Performed on self sampling of stools at home. It is used to characterize the taxonomic profiles of intestinal microbiota. It will be applied on all samples	At inclusion, 2 to 3 months later
Characterization of gut microbiota profile by " shotgun " metagenomic sequencing	Performed on self sampling of stools at home. It provides more detailled characterization of the taxonomic and functional profiles of the intestinal microbiota. It will be applied to a smaller number of samples (no more than 300).	At inclusion, 2 to 3 months later

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Institut National de la Santé Et de la Recherche Médicale, France

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): December 15, 2023
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 15, 2033
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 15, 2033

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: April 16, 2025
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 16, 2025
• First Posted (Actual): April 23, 2025

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 23, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 16, 2025
• Last Verified: April 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: C21-60

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
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No