Erythrocyte n-6 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids, Gut Microbiota, and Incident Type 2 Diabetes: A Prospective Cohort Study.
Diabetes care 2020 ; 43: 2435-2443.
Miao Z, Lin JS, Mao Y, Chen GD, Zeng FF, Dong HL, Jiang Z, Wang J, Xiao C, Shuai M, Gou W, Fu Y, Imamura F, Chen YM, Zheng JS
DOI : 10.2337/dc20-0631
PubMed ID : 32723842
PMCID : PMC7510039
URL : https://care.diabetesjournals.org/lookup/doi/10.2337/dc20-0631
Abstract
To examine the association of erythrocyte n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) biomarkers with incident type 2 diabetes and explore the potential role of gut microbiota in the association.
We evaluated 2,731 participants without type 2 diabetes recruited between 2008 and 2013 in the Guangzhou Nutrition and Health Study (Guangzhou, China). Case subjects with type 2 diabetes were identified with clinical and biochemical information collected at follow-up visits. Using stool samples collected during the follow-up in the subset ( = 1,591), 16S rRNA profiling was conducted. Using multivariable-adjusted Poisson or linear regression, we examined associations of erythrocyte n-6 PUFA biomarkers with incident type 2 diabetes and diversity and composition of gut microbiota.
Over 6.2 years of follow-up, 276 case subjects with type 2 diabetes were identified (risk 0.10). Higher levels of erythrocyte γ-linolenic acid (GLA), but not linoleic or arachidonic acid, were associated with higher type 2 diabetes incidence. Comparing the top to the bottom quartile groups of GLA levels, relative risk was 1.72 (95% CI 1.21, 2.44) adjusted for potential confounders. Baseline GLA was inversely associated with gut microbial richness and diversity (α-diversity, both < 0.05) during follow-up and significantly associated with microbiota β-diversity ( = 0.002). α-Diversity acted as a potential mediator in the association between GLA and type 2 diabetes ( < 0.05). Seven genera (, , , , , , and ) were enriched in quartile 1 of GLA and in participants without type 2 diabetes.
Relative concentrations of erythrocyte GLA were positively associated with incident type 2 diabetes in a Chinese population and also with gut microbial profiles. These results highlight that gut microbiota may play an important role linking n-6 PUFA metabolism and type 2 diabetes etiology.