The investigation of blastocystis subtypes in fecal samples of diabetes mellitus patients

Objective: The aim of this study was to detect Blastocystis spp. To determine the incidence, genotypes, regulation of blood glucose level and its role in gastrointestinal symptoms. Material and Methods: Thecurrent study was conducted at Aydın Adnan Menderes University Medical Faculty Hospital, where stool samples of 100 patients diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (DM) and 100 healthy volunteers as a control group were examined. Stool samples were evaluated by direct microscopic examination with Lugol's iodine solution and PCR. The positivity of Blastocystis spp. was compared between diabetic patients and the control group using the chi-square test. Classified data were evaluated using the chi-square test while analytical data were evaluated using the Student-T test. Statistical analysis of the data was performed using the SPSS 17.0 program, and a significance level of p<0.05 was determined. Results: The presence of Blastocystis was investigated in a total of 200 samples, including 100 with DM and 100 controls. Of the cases, 81 (40.5%) were female and 119 (59.5%) were male. The mean age was 57.1±11.2, with an age range of 21-86. Most of the participants resided in the city center (105, 52.5%), while 49 (24.5%) lived in districts and 46 (23%) lived in villages. Direct microscopic examination of stool samples revealed Blastocystis in 9 individuals in the DM group and 9 individuals in the control group. There was no significant difference between the groups in terms of Blastocystis positivity (p>0.05). All 18 samples that were Blastocystis positive by direct microscopy were also found to be positive by PCR. Additionally, two samples that were negative by direct microscopy in the control group were found to be positive by PCR. When Blastocystis-positive and negative cases were compared in terms of age, gender, residence, and clinical findings, there was no statistically significant difference between the groups (p>0.05). Nine (45%) of the Blastocystis subtypes were ST3, seven (35%) were ST2, three (15%) were ST1, and one (5%) was ST6. Since the number of subtypes was low, no additional statistical analysis was performed. Conclusion: In our study, no significant difference was found between the diabetic patients and the control group in terms of Blastocystis spp. prevalence and this result is similar to other studies.This situation was associated with the fact that the target number could not be reached in the sample size and that more than one stool sample could not be obtained from the patients.