Published online Jun 7, 2022. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v28.i21.2320
Peer-review started: January 8, 2022
First decision: March 9, 2022
Revised: March 19, 2022
Accepted: April 22, 2022
Article in press: April 22, 2022
Published online: June 7, 2022
Processing time: 145 Days and 8.7 Hours
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) has been recognized as a comorbidity of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM); more than half of T2DM patients suffer from OSAHS. Intermittent hypoxia (IH) plays an important role in metabolic diseases, such as obesity and OSAHS, through various mechanisms, including altering the gut microecological composition and function. Therefore, it is important to study the role of gut microbiota in T2DM patients with OSAHS, which has a high incidence and is prone to several complications.
To assess whether IH is involved in altering the fecal microbiome in T2DM patients with OSAHS.
Seventy-eight participants were enrolled from Henan Province People’s Hospital and divided into healthy control (HC, n = 26), T2DM (n = 25), and T2DM + OSA (n = 27) groups based on their conditions. The fecal bacterial DNA of the research participants was extracted and subjected to 16S ribosomal RNA sequencing. The clinical indices, such as insulin resistance index, homocysteine (HCY) concentration, and the concentrations of inflammatory factors in the peripheral blood, were assessed and recorded.
Group T2DM + OSA had the highest apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) (2.3 vs 3.7 vs 13.7), oxygen desaturation index (0.65 vs 2.2 vs 9.1), HCY concentration (9.6 μmol/L vs 10.3 μmol/L vs 13.81 μmol/L) and C-reactive protein (CRP) concentrations (0.3 mg/L vs 1.43 mg/L vs 2.11 mg/L), and lowest mean oxygen saturation (97.05% vs 96.6% vs 94.7%) among the three groups. Twelve and fifteen key differences in amplicon sequence variants were identified when comparing group T2DM + OSA with groups T2DM and HC, respectively. We found progressively decreased levels of Faecalibacterium, Eubacterium, and Lachnospiraceae, and an increase in the level of Actinomyces, which strongly correlated with the HCY, CRP, fasting plasma glucose, and hemoglobin A1c concentrations, AHI, mean oxygen saturation, and insulin resistance index in group T2DM + OSA (P < 0.05).
For T2DM patients with OSAHS, IH may be involved in selective alterations of the gut microbiota, which may affect the pathophysiological development of T2DM and DM-related complications.
Core Tip: Clinically, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients have a significantly higher prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) than non-T2DM patients and are more prone to diabetes-related complications and metabolic syndrome, including obesity and hypertension. In recent years, the imbalance of gut microbiota has been found to be associated with various metabolic disorders. This study revealed that intermittent hypoxia was associated with changes in the gut microbiota in patients with T2DM complicated by OSAHS. These changes may be involved in the progression of metabolic disorders through increased proinflammatory factors and impaired intestinal barrier function.