Table 3 Comparison of anthropometric, biochemical and hormonal parameters, and psychometric data across the four gut microbiome clusters. For anthropometric, biochemical and hormonal variables, the median along with the 25^th percentile (p25) and 75^th percentile (p75) are shown. For psychometric parameters, mean and standard deviation (sd) are shown. P values were obtained by Kruskal–Wallis test; when significant values or trends (p ≤ 0.1) were obtained, post-hoc Wilcoxon rank-sum tests were performed. Significant p values are in bold. For YFAS diagnosed addiction, number and percentage of individuals with diagnosed addictive eating behavior are reported for each cluster (Fisher’s exact test)

C1

C2

C3

C4

p

N

Median (p25-p75)

N

Median (p25-p75)

N

Median (p25-p75)

N

Median (p25-p75)

Anthropometric, biochemical, and hormonal parameters

 Age (years)

31

34 (26–42)

33

32 (26–44)

22

40 (30–45)

14

32 (27–41)

0.959

 Body weight (kg)

31

70.5 (58.0–80.0)

33

77.8 (65.5–89.5)

22

76.5 (57.5–85.5)

14

76.5 (59.6–89.4)

0.190

 Body mass index, BMI (kg/m²)

31

25.6 (21.2–30.5)

33

29.7 (24.4–33.0)

22

28.2 (21.8–31.8)

14

28.6 (22.6–32.9)

0.160

 Systolic blood pressure (mmHg)

31

115.0 (110.0–125.0)

32

120.0 (111.3–130.0)

22

112.5 (108.8–130.0)

14

120.0 (110.0–130.0)

0.287

 Diastolic blood pressure (mmHg)

31

70.0 (70.0–80.0)

32

77.5 (70.0–80.0)

22

70.0 (65.0–75.0)

14

80.0 (70.0–81.3)

0.150

 Waist circumference (cm)

31

88.0 (77.0–106.0)

33

96.0 (89.0–102.5)

22

95.5 (76.8–104.0)

14

94.0 (83.0–101.3)

0.258

 Hip circumference (cm)

28

105.0 (94.5–112.0)

27

109.0 (101.0–117.0)

20

103.0 (95.0–115.0)

13

106.0 (97.0–120.0)

0.274

 Waist-to-hip ratio

28

0.83 (0.79–0.92)

27

0.87 (0.83–0.91)

20

0.84 (0.81–0.90)

13

0.88 (0.79–0.92)

0.701

 Total cholesterol (mg/dl)

31

175.0 (164.0–202.0)

33

170.0 (155.5–211.5)

22

193.0 (168.3–208.8)

14

185.5 (161.8–194.0)

0.718

 HDL-cholesterol (mg/dl)

31

58.0 (47.0–64.0)

33

53.0 (47.5–59.0)

22

56.5 (45.5–59.8)

14

56.5 (46.0–68.5)

0.148

 Triglycerides (mg/dl)

31

69.0 (51.0–106.0)

33

85.0 (60.5–106.0)

22

70.0 (56.5–98.8)

14

63.0 (47.5–91.5)

0.077^(a)

 LDL-cholesterol (mg/dl)

30

105.5 (96.8–125.0)

33

110.0 (91.0–131.5)

20

115.0 (100.0–143.8)

14

107.0 (92.8–126.0)

0.940

 Glycemia (mg/dl)

31

85.0 (80.0–89.0)

33

86.0 (81.0–91.0)

22

88.0 (84.8–90.8)

14

81.0 (78.5–90.3)

0.600

 Glycemia-AUC (mg/dl)

31

12,630 (10,725–15,000)

31

13,095 (10,515–14,715)

22

13,148 (11,351–14,554)

14

12,998 (10,890–14,738)

0.911

 Insulin (μU/ml)

31

5.9 (3.2–13.0)

33

9.0 (4.8–12.0)

22

6.0 (4.1–13.0)

14

6.0 (3.9–10.6)

0.383

 Insulin-AUC (μU/ml)

31

4709 (2670–7095)

31

7155 (4430–9725)

21

4016 (3460–7379)

14

5264 (3735–7728)

0.054^(b)

 Glycated hemoglobin (%)

31

5.2 (4.9–5.4)

33

5.3 (5.0–5.4)

22

5.1 (4.9–5.4)

14

5.2 (4.7–5.4)

0.371

 Creatinine (mg/dl)

10

0.72 (0.63–0.85)

20

0.75 (0.60–0.82)

9

0.77 (0.63–0.90)

6

0.71 (0.67–0.77)

0.917

 Alanine transaminase, ALT (mg/dl)

10

19.0 (14.3–24.0)

21

18.0 (12.0–24.5)

9

17.0 (13.5–28.5)

6

14.0 (9.8–17.0)

0.180

 Aspartate transaminase, AST (mg/dl)

10

17.0 (14.8–22.3)

21

16.0 (13.0–20.0)

9

20.0 (15.0–23.5)

6

15.0 (12.3–17.0)

0.427

 Uric acid (mg/dl)

10

4.4 (3.7–4.8)

21

4.4 (4.0–5.1)

7

3.9 (3.6–4.3)

5

3.5 (3.4–3.9)

0.023^(a)

 C-reactive protein

9

0.4 (0.1–0.5)

21

0.3 (0.1–0.5)

8

0.2 (0.1–0.4)

5

0.8 (0.5–0.23)

0.253

 Thyroid stimulating hormone, TSH (mUI/ml)

10

1.43 (0.37–2.11)

20

1.85 (1.51–2.38)

10

1.48 (1.22–1.78)

7

0.84 (0.80–1.59)

0.059^(a)

 Adrenocorticotropic hormone, ACTH (pg/ml)

10

21.0 (11.0–29.3)

21

17.0 (12.5–23.0)

8

16.5 (13.0–23.8)

6

14.5 (11.5–22.0)

0.771

 HOMA-IR

31

1.24 (0.66–2.60)

33

1.91 (0.97–2.71)

22

1.37 (0.83–2.96)

14

1.17 (0.77–2.37)

0.466

 MATSUDA Index

29

6.90 (3.55–10.10)

30

5.15 (2.90–7.93)

20

7.05 (3.83–10.35)

13

5.20 (3.90–9.45)

0.442

N

Mean ± sd

N

Mean ± sd

N

Mean ± sd

N

Mean ± sd

Psychometric parameters

 BITE severity score

30

4.73 ± 4.56

30

4.87 ± 5.24

19

4.31 ± 4.16

9

2.66 ± 1.73

0.124

 BITE symptom score

30

6.23 ± 5.63

30

5.40 ± 5.66

19

7.26 ± 6.64

9

9.77 ± 4.87

0.108

 TFEQ UE

29

17.10 ± 5.55

30

16.40 ± 5.87

19

16.95 ± 4.73

12

17.82 ± 5.21

0.254

 TFEQ CR

29

15.31 ± 5.30

30

14.36 ± 3.79

19

13.16 ± 2.77

12

13.92 ± 4.66

0.448

 TFEQ EE

29

7.06 ± 1.49

30

7.80 ± 2.98

19

7.42 ± 3.48

12

8.50 ± 2.35

0.198

 YFAS symptoms

31

1.93 ± 1.41

33

2.36 ± 1.56

22

2.41 ± 1.47

14

2.64 ± 1.95

0.968

 YFAS diagnosed addiction

2

6.4%

6

18.2%

4

18.2%

2

14.3%

0.242

 PSS

31

14.77 ± 6.27

32

16.06 ± 6.74

21

14.81 ± 6.88

12

17.33 ± 4.94

0.380