Lifestyle Factors Affecting the Gut Microbiota's Relationship with Type 1 Diabetes

The incidence of type 1 diabetes (T1D) is rising drastically for the past decades at a rate that cannot be explained by genetic changes alone. Environmental changes are considered to be the main drivers of this change. Recently, the gut microbiota has been suggested as a missing link between known environmental disease modulators and T1D promotion. Lifestyle factors have changed over time and have altered the gut microbiota-host interaction affecting T1D development. The purpose of this review is to discuss recent data emphasizing the modulatory potential of early lifestyle factors on gut microbiota and to elucidate their implication for T1D.

Recent findings show that lifestyle factors, especially those that affect the early establishment of gut homeostasis and the education of the immune system, are crucial disease modulators. Changing lifestyle factors affecting the early establishment of gut homeostasis are suggested to be key drivers of the rising T1D incidence.