Alkoholizm i Narkomania

Abstract

3/2025 vol. 38
Original article

Biochemical indicators of alcohol and physiological hunger in alcohol-dependent men – a preliminary study

Damian Czarnecki 1
,
Anna Długosz 2
,
Jacek Budzyński 3
,
Jan Chodkiewicz 4
,
Ewa Żekanowska 5
,
Zofia Rosińska 6
,
Napoleon Waszkiewicz 7
,
Małgorzata Sidor 1
,
Joanna Wróblewska 8
,
Marcin Ziółkowski 1

  1. Department of Preventive Nursing, Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, Poland

  2. Department of Food Industry Technology and Engineering, Bydgoszcz University of Science and Technology, Bydgoszcz, Poland

  3. Department of Vascular and Internal Diseases, Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, Poland

  4. Institute of Psychology, Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland

  5. Department of Pathophysiology, Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, Poland

  6. Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, Poland

  7. Department of Psychiatry, Medical University of Białystok, Poland

  8. Department of Medical Biology and Biochemistry, Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, Poland

Alcohol Drug Addict 2025;38(3):131-144

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5114/ain.2025.161820
Online publish date: 2026/05/29
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Introduction

Disturbances in hunger and satiety regulation may contribute to alcohol craving and increase the risk of relapse in alcohol-dependent individuals. Emerging evidence indicates that neuropeptides involved in appetite regulation, both centrally and peripherally, may play a role in the mechanisms of addiction. This preliminary study aimed to compare the serum concentrations of selected appetite-related neuropeptides and cytokine (orexin-A, ghrelin, leptin, proopiomelanocortin – POMC, interleukin 6 – IL-6) between alcohol- dependent men and healthy controls. The study also explored their associations with alcohol craving, physiological (pre-meal) hunger and anthropome­tric parameters.

Material and methods

The sample consisted of 54 male patients undergoing inpatient alcohol dependence treatment and 20 healthy male controls. Clinical data, anthropometric measurements (body mass index – BMI, waist-to-hip ratio – WHR, body fat percentage – %FM), and subjective ratings of alcohol craving and pre-meal hunger (using a visual analogue scale) were collected. Serum biomarker levels were analysed using ELISA.

Results

Alcohol-dependent patients had significantly lower serum ghrelin and higher IL-6 levels compared to controls (p < 0.05). Correlational analyses revealed associations between POMC levels and alcohol consumption as well as between orexin and pre-meal hunger intensity.

Discussion

The results suggest a dysregulation of appetite-regulating neuropeptides in alcohol- dependent men, which may be linked to altered hunger perception and alcohol craving.

Conclusions

Orexigenic and anorexigenic signalling pathways may play a role in the pathophysio­logy of relapse. These findings require confirmation in larger and more homogeneous samples.

Keywords

Alcohol dependence, Alcohol craving, Appetite, Relapse, Biochemical parameters

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