Largest Study of Its Kind Finds Gut Microbes Linked to Type 2 Diabetes

Researchers from Brigham, Broad, and Harvard Chan School have discovered that certain species and strains of bacteria are associated with alterations in the gut microbiome’s function and an individual’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

The most extensive and diverse study yet on the gut microbiome of individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2D), prediabetes, and normal glucose levels has discovered that certain viruses and bacterial genetic variants are associated with changes in gut microbiome functionality and the risk of T2D.

Results of the study—which represents a collaboration across Brigham and Women’s Hospital (a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system), the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health—are published in Nature Medicine.