The subgingival microbiome, systemic inflammation and insulin resistance: The Oral Infections, Glucose Intolerance and Insulin Resistance Study

Background: Inflammation might link microbial exposures to insulin resistance. We investigated the cross-sectional association between periodontal microbiota, inflammation and insulin resistance. Methods: The Oral Infections, Glucose Intolerance and Insulin Resistance Study (ORIGINS) enrolled 152 diabetes-free adults (77% female) aged 20–55 years (mean = 34 ± 10). Three hundred and four subgingival plaque samples were analysed using the Human Oral Microbe Identification Microarray to measure the relative abundances of 379 taxa. C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, tumour necrosis factor-α and adiponectin were assessed from venous blood and their z-scores were summed to create an inflammatory score (IS). Insulin resistance was defined via the HOMA-IR. Associations between the microbiota and both inflammation and HOMA-IR were explored using multivariable linear regressions; mediation analyses assessed the proportion of the association explained by inflammation. Results: The IS was inversely associated with Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria and positively associated with Firmicutes and TM7 (p-values < 0.05). Proteobacteria levels were associated with insulin resistance (p < 0.05). Inflammation explained 30–98% of the observed associations between levels of Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria or Firmicutes and insulin resistance (p-values < 0.05). Eighteen individual taxa were associated with inflammation (p < 0.05) and 22 with insulin resistance (p < 0.05). No findings for individual taxa met Bonferroni-adjusted statistical significance. Conclusion: Bacterial measures were related to inflammation and insulin resistance among diabetes-free adults.