Background The oral microbiome serves as an effector of bidirectional promotion between periodontitis and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). However, the association between diabetes status and oral microbiota alterations and whether these patterns explained increased periodontitis severity remains unclearly illuminated.Objective In this study, an investigation was conducted into the association of T2DM with periodontitis severity from the perspective of the oral microbiome.Methods This cross-sectional study enrolled cohorts of patients with and without T2DM presenting periodontitis. Combined with bioinformatics and statistical analyses, 16S rRNA gene sequencing was utilized for characterizing the oral microbiome across four oral niches in patients with different T2DM statuses and periodontitis severity.Results Oral microbiome composition was dysregulated in the context of periodontitis with or without T2DM. The variation pattern of the oral microbiome showed obvious differences. Capnocytophaga sputigena, Fusobacterium hwasookii, and Capnocytophaga gingivalis demonstrated a significant down-regulation exclusively in T2DM subjects. Compared with non-diabetic (ND) subjects, T2DM subjects exhibited markedly altered correlation patterns between Filifactor alocis, Fusobacterium nucleatum, and other periodontitis-associated differential microbes and clinical parameters. Solobacterium moorei, Catonella morbi, and several additional taxa were potential biomarkers of periodontitis severity in T2DM subjects. In addition, T2DM altered microbial interaction between plaque (Pla) and gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) communities, which may form an oral microbial environment facilitating periodontitis severity.Conclusion T2DM greatly reshapes periodontitis-associated oral microbial dysbiosis patterns, which additionally display T2DM-specific microbial traits. This highlights the unique regulatory role and significant impact of T2DM on oral microbiome alterations in periodontitis.
Mi et al. (2026) studied this question.