Investigate the Effect of Diabetes Mellitus on Oral Microbial Flora.A Microbiome Metagenomic Study

Abstract

Introduction: Diabetes mellitus (DM) affects multiple biological systems, including the oral micro biome system because of its significant role in oral and general body health. In the following study, it is aimed to understand how T2DM affects the complexity of human saliva microbiota in search of possible disruption and its consequences: Objective: To examine whether T2DM alters the oral microbial profile and explore the relationship between microbial profile and glycemic control and clinical markers. Methods: This study was a cross-sectional, case-control study with 100 participants where the T2DM case group consists of patients (HbA1c > 6.5%) and 50 healthy control groups. Saliva and oral swab samples were collected in a standardized manner and placed in −80°C until further use. Bacterial nucleic acids were isolated; metagenomics was performed through high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA genes. To measure the microbial richness and community differences, alpha and beta diversity statistics were used. In differential abundance analysis, the taxa that are significantly correlated with diabetes were determined. Results: The alpha diversity had lower microbial diversity and relatively higher inequality in T2DM patients compared to the control samples. Beta diversity demonstrated that microbial community structure changed significantly; diabetics were found to be more susceptible to pathogenic genera of Porphyromonas and Fusobacterium. These microbial patterns significantly related to higher HbA1c values and changes in routines of oral care. Conclusion: According to the study, highly relevant dysbiosis has been observed in the setting of T2DM and reduced complexity of oral microbiota with the higher abundance of pathogenic species. The results presented here highlight the importance of diabetes in regulating the structure and composition of oral microbiota and could inform the development of interventions aimed at enhancing oral and overall health in diabetic patients.