Diabetes Care: Incidence of red blood cell n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids, intestinal flora, and type 2 diabetes.

A recent study published in Diabetes Care, an authoritative journal of diabetes, looked at the association between red blood cell n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) biomarkers and type 2 diabetes and the potential role of intestinal flora in the association.
researchers assessed 2,731 participants without type 2 diabetes recruited at the Guangzhou Nutrition and Health Study (Guangzhou, China) between 2008 and 2013.
identify people with type 2 diabetes through clinical and biochemical information collected at follow-up.
the researchers used stool samples collected during the follow-up of subgroups (n-1591) for 16S rRNA analysis, and used multivariate-adjusted Poisson or linear regression to assess the association between red blood cell n-6 PUFA biomarkers and the onset of type 2 diabetes and intestinal flora diversity and components.
in a 6.2-year follow-up, the researchers identified 276 cases of type 2 diabetes (risk of 0.10). higher levels of red blood cell gamma-flaxacid (GLA)
, rather than higher levels of linoleic acid or peanut tetraoleic acid, were associated with a higher incidence of type 2 diabetes.
the researchers compared the highest and lowest quartiles of the GLA level to the relative risk of 1.72 (95% CI was 1.21-2.44) after adjusting the potential confounding factors. During
follow-up, baseline GLA was negatively correlated with the richness and diversity of gut microbes (alpha diversity, both P-lt;0.05) and significantly associated with beta diversity in the microbiome (P-0.002).
alpha-diversity is a potential leading factor in the association between GLA and type 2 diabetes (P.lt;0.05).
seven genus (Butyrivibrio, Blautia, Oscillospira, Odoribacter, other S24-7, other Rikenellaceae and other Clostridiales) were concentrated in the first quartile at gla levels and in participants without type 2 diabetes.
it can be seen that the relative concentration of red blood cell GLA is positively correlated with the onset of type 2 diabetes and positively correlated with the gut microbiome.
these results suggest that intestinal flora may play an important role in connecting n-6 PUFA metabolism and the etiology of type 2 diabetes.
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