High Prevalence of Arcobacter Carriage in Older Subjects with Type 2 Diabetes

Arcobacters are potential pathogens related to diarrheic infections and, rarely, septicaemia. This study evaluated the prevalence of arcobacters in stool samples of subjects with (n=38) and without (n=61) type 2 diabetes by using cultural and molecular techniques. Three Arcobacter positive cultures were found, all among diabetic subjects, whereas molecular analysis showed a carriage rate of 79% and 26.2% in subjects with and without type 2 diabetes (P<.001), respectively. The multivariate analysis showed that type 2 diabetes (β=1.913; 95%CI: 2.378–19.285; P<.0001) and age (β=1.744; 95%CI: 2.077–15.766; P=.001) were the only factors independently associated with arcobacters colonization in this population. Our study demonstrated a high prevalence of arcobacters colonization in type 2 diabetic and older subjects. The clinical significance and the potential health risk associated with these emerging species remain to be determined.