Illustration of Gut–Thyroid Axis in Alcohol Use Disorder: Interplay of Gut Dysfunction, Pro-Inflammatory Responses, and Thyroid Function

Abstract

(1) Background: Heavy and chronic alcohol drinking leads to altered gut dysfunction, coupled with a pro-inflammatory state. Thyroid-associated hormones and proteins may be dysregulated by heavy and chronic alcohol intake; however, the mechanism for altered gut-derived changes in thyroid function has not been studied thus far. This study investigates the role of alcohol-induced gut dysfunction and pro-inflammatory cytokine profile in the thyroid function of patients with alcohol use disorder (AUD). (2) Methods: Male and female AUD patients (n = 44) were divided into Gr.1, patients with normal thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels (n = 28, 0.8 ≤ TSH ≤ 3 mIU/L); and Gr.2, patients with clinically elevated TSH levels (n = 16, TSH > 3 mIU/L). Demographics, drinking measures, comprehensive metabolic panels, and candidate thyroid markers (TSH, circulating triiodothyronine (T3), and free thyroxine (fT4)) were analyzed. Gut-dysfunction-associated markers (lipopolysaccharide (LPS), LPS-binding protein (LBP), and soluble LPS-induced pathogen-associated protein (sCD14)), and candidate pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-6, IL-8, MCP-1, PAI-1) were also evaluated. (3) Results: Patients in both groups presented with a borderline overweight BMI category. Gr.2 reported numerically higher indices of chronic and heavy drinking patterns than Gr.1. The fT4 levels were elevated, while T3 was within normal limits in both groups. The gut dysfunction markers LBP and sCD14 were numerically elevated in Gr.2 vs. Gr.1, suggesting subtle ongoing changes. Candidate pro-inflammatory cytokines were significantly elevated in Gr.2, including IL-1 β, MCP-1, and PAI-1. Gr.2 showed a strong and statistically significant effect on the gut–immune–thyroid response (r = 0.896, 36 p = 0.002) on TSH levels in a multivariate regression model with LBP, sCD14, and PAI-1 levels as upstream variables in the gut–thyroid pathway. In addition, AUROC analysis demonstrated that many of the cytokines strongly predicted TSH in Gr.2, including IL-6 (area = 0.774, 39 p < 0.001) and TNF-α (area = 0.708, p = 0.017), among others. This was not observed in Gr.1. Gr.2 demonstrated elevated fT4, as well as TSH, which suggests that there was subclinical thyroiditis with underlying CNS dysfunction and a lack of a negative feedback loop. (4) Conclusions: These findings reveal the toxic effects of heavy and chronic drinking that play a pathological role in thyroid gland dysregulation by employing the gut–brain axis. These results also emphasize potential directions to carefully evaluate thyroid dysregulation in the overall medical management of AUD.