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Scientists are one step away from understanding why diabetes develops
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
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People suffering from diabetes mellitus type 2 account for 90% of all cases of this disease. It mainly develops in people over 40 years old, but now there is a stable tendency for the disease to become "rejuvenated" and its victims are middle-aged or young people.
The results of a new study by scientists indicate that the intestines of people suffering from type 2 diabetes contain a higher number of pathogenic bacteria.
Experts analyzed more than 60 thousand bacterial markers in healthy people and those with type 2 diabetes.
This discovery gives grounds to state that scientists, in this case from the University of Copenhagen, are making huge progress in developing a relatively new branch of science – metagenomics (a branch of molecular genetics that studies genetic material obtained directly from samples).
Just because a diabetic person has more pathogens in their gut doesn't mean they're the cause of the disease. It does mean that the amount of harmful microorganisms can indicate that the person is sick.
This discovery may help further develop early and rapid diagnostics of metabolic diseases.
"Everyone's gut contains hundreds of bacteria that affect their health. However, if their balance is disturbed, problems arise," says Professor Jun Wang from the University of Copenhagen.
Experts say that increased numbers of pathogenic bacteria in the guts of people with type 2 diabetes may lead to resistance to various drugs.
Dr Wang and his colleagues studied the gut bacteria of 345 Chinese people, 171 of whom had type 2 diabetes, and identified biological indicators of their condition.
People with diabetes had more hostile gut microbiota.
The next stage of the scientists' research involves transplanting intestinal bacteria from people suffering from diabetes into mice. Experts will try to find out whether these microorganisms can be the cause of the disease, or whether it is only a consequence.
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