Zahra Mohammadi: Liver and Pancreatobiliary Diseases Research Center, Digestive Diseases Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. ORCID
Faraz Bishehsari: Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Sahar Masoudi: Liver and Pancreatobiliary Diseases Research Center, Digestive Diseases Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Azita Hekmatdoost: Department of Clinical Nutrition, School of Nutritional Sciences and Dietetics, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Delisha A Stewart: Department of Nutrition, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Nutrition Research Institute, Kannapolis, North Carolina, USA.
Sareh Eghtesad: Liver and Pancreatobiliary Diseases Research Center, Digestive Diseases Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Maryam Sharafkhah: Liver and Pancreatobiliary Diseases Research Center, Digestive Diseases Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Hossein Poustchi: Liver and Pancreatobiliary Diseases Research Center, Digestive Diseases Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. ORCID
Shahin Merat: Liver and Pancreatobiliary Diseases Research Center, Digestive Diseases Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
BACKGROUND: Disruptions in sleep related to mealtime may contribute to gut microbial imbalances, and put individuals at higher risk for metabolic diseases. The aim of this pilot study was to investigate the relationships between late-night eating habits and sleep quality and duration, with gut microbiota (GM) profiles. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 36 men referred to a clinic were enrolled. In addition to demographic information, each participant completed questionnaires regarding medical history, physical activity, late-night eating habits, sleep quality and sleep duration. The scores from these questionnaires were used to categorize study participants into the following groups: sleep quality (good or poor), late-night eating (yes or no) and sleep duration (<7 or ���7 hours). Five grams of stool was also obtained from each participant for GM profiling analysis by sequencing. RESULTS: The mean age of the study population was 42.1 �� 1.6 years. and were the two dominant phyla present in all participant samples. Differences in the relative abundance of GM at each taxonomic rank between study groups were insignificant. Only at the order level were found to be significantly different between individuals who had late-night eating habits and those who did not ( & < 0.05). No other parameter demonstrated a significant difference in GM profiles of participants. CONCLUSION: In this pilot study, we found to be more abundant in individuals with late-night eating habits. Studies with higher sample sizes are warranted to better delineate the possible effects of time of eating on microbial composition.
