Relationship between gut microbiome characteristics and the effect of nutritional therapy on glycemic control in pregnant women with gestational diabetes mellitus

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between the characteristics of gut microbiome and the effect of medical nutrition therapy (MNT) on glycemic control in pregnant women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Seventy-four pregnant women newly diagnosed with GDM received MNT for one-week. The effect of glycemic control was evaluated by fasting and 2-hour postprandial blood glucose; and stool samples of pregnant women were collected to detect the gut microbiome before and after MNT. We used a nested case-control study design, with pregnant women with GDM who did not meet glycemic standards after MNT as the ineffective group and those with an age difference of ≤5 years, matched for pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) 1:1, and meeting glycemic control criteria as the effective group. Comparison of the gut microbiome characteristics before MNT showed that the ineffective group was enriched inDesulfovibrio,Aeromonadales,Leuconostocaceae,Weissella,Prevotella,Bacillales_Incertae Sedis XI,GemellaandBacillales, while the effective group was enriched inRoseburia,Clostridium,Bifidobacterium,Bifidobacteriales,Bifidobacteriaceae,HoldemaniaandProteus. After treatment, the effective group was enriched inBifidobacteriumandActinomycete, while the ineffective group was enriched inHoldemania,Proteus,CarnobacteriaceaeandGranulicatella. In conclusion, the decrease in the abundance of characteristic gut microbiome positively correlated with blood glucose may be a factor influencing the poor hypoglycemic effect of MNT in pregnant women with GDM. Abundance of more characteristic gut microbiome negatively correlated with blood glucose could help control blood glucose in pregnant women with GDM.