Microflora and Diabetes Mellitus: Evidence from Population Studies

In recent years, the increasing incidence of diabetes such as type 1, type 2 and gestational diabetes has become one of the most critical global public health problems. More effective measures are urgently needed to curb this trend. The human body lives in an environment surrounded by microflora. In recent years, results from observation studies have shown that microflorae are closely related to human health and participate in the occurrence and development of various diseases. Among them, many studies focus on the intestinal flora, with the latest results suggesting that oral flora may also play a certain role in the development of diseases. Former studies indicated that the microflora was closely related to the occurrence and development of diabetes. However, different from animal experiments, the effects of the microflora on diabetes in different regions and populations may have greater heterogeneity as the population microflora environment is easily affected by diet, environment, and drugs. Although the different diabetes subtypes share common mechanisms such as abnormal glucose tolerance or insulin resistance, there are differences in other mechanisms such as immunity. In addition, the mechanism of how diet and drugs act on diabetes through microflora and its metabolites is unclear. How to distinguish the heterogeneity of the influence of microflora on diabetes, find the source and corresponding mechanism of the heterogeneity, and clarify the common and specific mechanisms in which microflora influence diabetes will become important reference points for subsequent clinical translation. These questions need to be answered by a large number of high-quality, in-depth population studies.

This Research Topic welcomes population studies that will shed light on the relationship and mechanisms linking the body's microbiome and diabetes. We also encourage researchers to explore the commonalities, heterogeneity, and potential mechanisms of the relationship between microflora and diabetes in different regions and populations. Besides, this Research Topic hopes to provide more valuable evidence and findings on the impact of diet and drug use on the microflora in the occurrence, development, and prognosis of diabetes. Finally, this Research Topic aims to provide abundant population-based evidence for the association and potential mechanisms between microflora and diabetes, and promote substantial progress in this field.

In this Research Topic, we welcome submissions related to the following sub-topics, including but not limited to:
• Population studies on the association between microflora (intestinal and oral) and diabetes subtypes (gestational, type 1, and type 2 diabetes);
• Main strain heterogeneity and causes affecting the occurrence and development of diabetes subtypes in different regions and populations;
• Use of microflora to establish disease prediction models for different diabetes subtypes to identify common and heterogeneous factors;
• The influence of microflora on the prognosis of patients with different diabetes subtypes, and how to utilize microflora for blood glucose control and other treatments;
• The effects and mechanisms of metabolites of different bacterial communities on diabetes subtypes;
• How diet and nutrients affect the relationship between microflora and diabetes and its intermediate mechanisms;
• Influence of clinical antibiotic use or abuse on the occurrence, development, and prognosis of diabetes mellitus.


Topic Editor Amy Alman has a patent from the US (# 9,753,041) but doesn't receive any income as a result of this patent, and doesn’t have any financial conflicts or other competing interests with regard to the Research Topic.