Gut Bacteria Contribute to Improved Prediction of Type 2 Diabetes

Lack of fluctuations in the abundance of gut bacteria over a 24-hour time period can indicate that an individual has type 2 diabetes, according to a study published in the medical journal Cell Host & Microbe.¹

“When certain gut bacteria do not follow a day-night rhythm, so if their number and function does not change over the course of the day, this can be an indicator for a potential type 2 diabetes disease,” explained chronobiologist Silke Kiessling, co-contributor to the study. “Knowing this can improve diagnosis and outlook of type 2 diabetes.”²

Alongside lifestyle, genetics, and obesity, the gut microbiome is an important risk factor for predicting metabolic disorders and nutrition-related diseases. Changes in the microbiome can correlate to changes in the metabolic health of an individual. Gut bacteria are evaluated by taking fecal samples for research purposes.²

The study observed 2 population cohorts, 1 from a German population called KORA, and 1 from an independent population in England called FoCus. In the German population, 1976 individuals demonstrated a positive correlation between oscillations in the number of microbiota members and the abundance of type 2 diabetes among the population. In the independent population, 1363 confirmed positive correlations between microbial oscillations and type 2 diabetes prevalence. An additional 699 individuals from the German population were successfully predicted to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes 5 years after the initial sampling.¹

In these cohorts, arrhythmic bacteria—those that do not change in the 24-hour cycle—are considered markers for potential disease, and the investigators refer to these markers as risk signatures. A change in the number therefore represents an increased possibility of contracting a nutrition-related disease.²

The study placed special importance on registering the time of day that gut bacteria samples were taken, and posited that changes in the gut bacteria may affect other microbiome-associated diseases, such as Crohn disease or intestinal cancer. Further research is required to verify this, according to investigators.¹

The use of cohort studies also warranted future work, as the investigators offered the possibility of re-examining the individuals in the population over time. From these observations, investigators may then be able to ascertain typical signs that lead to future disease occurrences.¹

References

1. Reitmeier S, Kiessling S, Clavel T, et al. Arrhythmic Gut Microbiome Signatures Predict Risk of Type 2 Diabetes. Cell Host & Microbe. July 2, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chom.2020.06.004
2. Gut bacteria improve type 2 diabetes risk prediction. News Release. Technical University of Munich; July 6, 2020. Accessed July 7, 2020. https://www.tum.de/nc/en/about-tum/news/press-releases/details/36118/