Abstract

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder, but the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms of ADHD remain unclear. Gut microbiota has been recognized to influence brain function and behaviors. Therefore, this study aimed to determine whether imbalanced gut microbiomes identified by a 16S rRNA sequencing approach are involved in the pathophysiology of ADHD. We recruited a total of 30 children with ADHD (mean age: 8.4 years) and a total of 30 healthy controls (mean age: 9.3 years) for this study. The dietary patterns of all participants were assessed with the food frequency questionnaire. The microbiota of fecal samples were investigated using 16S rRNA V3V4 amplicon sequencing, followed by bioinformatics and statistical analyses. We found that the gut microbiota communities in ADHD patients showed a significantly higher Shannon index and Chao index than the control subjects. Furthermore, the linear discriminant analysis effect size (LEfSe) analysis was used to identify differentially enriched bacteria between ADHD patients and healthy controls. The relative abundance of Bacteroides coprocola (B. coprocola) was decreased, while the relative abundance of Bacteroides uniformis (B. uniformis), Bacteroides ovatus (B. ovatus), and Sutterella stercoricanis (S. stercoricanis) were increased in the ADHD group. Of all participants, S. stercoricanis demonstrated a significant association with the intake of dairy, nuts/seeds/legumes, ferritin and magnesium. B. ovatus and S. stercoricanis were positively correlated to ADHD symptoms. In conclusion, we suggest that the gut microbiome community is associated with dietary patterns, and linked to the susceptibility to ADHD.

注意力缺陷/多动障碍（ADHD）是一种常见的神经发育障碍，但ADHD的潜在病理生理机制尚不清楚。人们认为肠道微生物群会影响大脑功能和行为。因此，本研究旨在确定通过16S rRNA测序方法鉴定肠道微生物紊乱是否参与ADHD的病理生理学。本研究共招募了30名患有ADHD的儿童（平均年龄：8.4岁）和30名健康对照儿童（平均年龄：9.3岁）。采用食物频率问卷评估所有参与者的饮食模式。使用16S rRNA V3V4扩增子测序研究粪便样品的微生物群，然后进行生物信息学和统计学分析。我们发现同对照组相比，ADHD患者的肠道微生物群落的多样性指数和菌群丰度指数明显更高。此外，线性判别分析效应大小（LEfSe）分析用于鉴定ADHD患者和健康对照组之间富集细菌的差异。B. coprocola的相对丰度降低，而单形拟杆菌（B. uniformis），卵形拟杆菌（B. ovatus）和萨特菌属（S.stercoricanis）的相对丰度在ADHD组中增加。通过所有参与者的结果表明S.stercoricanis丰度与摄入乳制品、坚果/种子/豆类、铁蛋白和镁有显著关联。 B. ovatus和S. stercoricanis与ADHD症状呈正相关。总之，我们认为肠道微生物组群与饮食模式有关，并与ADHD的易感性有关。