Abstract
Postprandial hyperglycemia increases the risk of mortality among patients with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Additionally, the gut microbiota and type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease are known to be correlated. Currently, fasting blood glucose is the primary index for the clinical diagnosis of diabetes; however, postprandial blood glucose is associated with the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease and mortality. Therefore, the dynamic change in blood glucose levels under free-living conditions is considered an important and better marker than fasting glucose levels, to study the relationship between glucose levels and microbiota. Here, we investigated the relationship between fasting and postprandial glucose levels and microbiota under free-living conditions, for one week in the older adults. The results revealed a significant correlation between peak glucose levels after dinner and the gut bacteria, particularly, Bacteroides, Clostridiales Clostridiaceae group, Anaerostipes, Clostridiales [Mogibacteriaceae] group, Holdemania, and Bilophila. Together, these findings suggest that the glucose levels after dinner are a better predictor of microbiota conditions than fasting glucose levels.