Yu XL, Zhou LY, Huang X, Li XY, Wang MK, Yang JS. Role of nutrition in diabetes mellitus and infections. World J Clin Cases 2025; 13(3): 94389 [DOI: 10.12998/wjcc.v13.i3.94389]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Ming-Ke Wang, MD, PhD, Associate Chief Physician, Naval Medical Center of PLA, Naval Medical University, No. 338 Huaihai West Road, Changning District, Shanghai 200052, China. wmke021@163.com
Research Domain of This Article
Nutrition & Dietetics
Article-Type of This Article
Editorial
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Xue-Lu Yu, Li-Yun Zhou, Xiao Huang, Xin-Yue Li, Ming-Ke Wang, Ji-Shun Yang, Naval Medical Center of PLA, Naval Medical University, Shanghai 200052, China
Co-first authors: Xue-Lu Yu and Li-Yun Zhou.
Co-corresponding authors: Ming-Ke Wang and Ji-Shun Yang.
Author contributions: Yu XL and Zhou LY wrote the draft and contributed equally to this work; Huang X and Li XY collected the literature; Wang MK and Yang JS conceptualized, proposed, designed, revised the manuscript, and supervised the whole process of the article and played important and indispensable roles in manuscript preparation and revision; all of the authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript to be published.
Supported byScientific Research Foundation of Shanghai Municipal Health Commission of Changning District, No. 20234Y038.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Ming-Ke Wang, MD, PhD, Associate Chief Physician, Naval Medical Center of PLA, Naval Medical University, No. 338 Huaihai West Road, Changning District, Shanghai 200052, China. wmke021@163.com
Received: March 18, 2024 Revised: September 28, 2024 Accepted: October 21, 2024 Published online: January 26, 2025 Processing time: 238 Days and 16.5 Hours
Abstract
In this editorial, we have commented on the article that has been published in the recent issue of World Journal of Clinical Cases. The authors have described a case of unilateral thyroid cyst and have opined that the acute onset of infection may be linked to diabetes mellitus (DM). We have focused on the role of nutrition in the association between DM and infection. Patients with DM are at a high risk of infection, which could also be attributed to nutrition-related factors. Nutritional interventions for patients with diabetes are mainly based on a low-calorie diet, which can be achieved by adhering to a low-carbohydrate diet. However, dietary fiber supplementation is recommended to maintain the diversity of the gut microbiota. Furthermore, high-quality protein can prevent the increased risk of infection due to malnutrition. Supplementation of vitamins C, vitamins A, vitamins D, and folic acid improves blood sugar control and facilitates immune regulation. Mineral deficiencies augment the risk of infection, but the relationship with diabetes is mostly U-shaped and a good intake should be maintained.
Core Tip: Nutrition plays a key role in diabetic infections. Reducing the burden of infection via nutrition is required not only from the perspective of treatment but also to reduce expenses. For patients with diabetes, maintaining nutrient balance can effectively reduce inflammation and oxidative stress, thereby alleviating the risk of infection.
