2023, Volume 16, Issue 8, pp 1170 – 1177

Diabetes mellitus, malnutrition, and sarcopenia: The bond is not explained by bioelectrical impedance analysis in older adults

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Authors and Affiliations

Corresponding Author: Francesco Salis Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy Email: francesco-salis@tiscali.it

Abstract

As people age, their risk of diabetes mellitus (DM) and sarcopenia increases due to the decline in muscle mass and strength. Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) is a method used to detect changes in body composition. The primary aim of the study was to determine the distribution of BIA variables among a group of non-DM people and two groups of patients with controlled and uncontrolled DM. The secondary aim was to establish the independent association between BIA-derived data, lipidic assets, and the prevalence of metabolic syndromes with DM. This study included a total of 235 participants who were categorized into three groups based on the presence of diabetes mellitus (DM) and their glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels: non-DM, controlled DM (HbA1c≤7.0%), and uncontrolled DM (HbA1c>7.0%). Waist circumference (p=0.005), bone (p<0.001), muscular (p<0.001), and appendicular skeletal mass (p<0.001) were lower in the non-DM group, while sarcopenic risk (p<0.001), total cholesterol (p<0.001), and LDL (p<0.001), were higher. Grip strength (p<0.001), visceral fat (p=0.01), and phase angle (p=0.04) were significantly lower in non-DM than uncontrolled DM patients, as well as the number of drugs taken (p=0.014). A multivariate analysis highlighted that LDL (coefficient -0.006, p=0.01) was negatively associated, while bone mass (coefficient 0.498, p=0.0042) was positively associated with DM uncontrol. Our study shows that BIA may not be the ideal tool for distinguishing between elderly individuals with and without DM, as it can be affected by numerous covariates, including potential differences in glucometabolic and cardiovascular control.

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About this article

PMC ID: 10652670
PubMed ID: 
DOI: 10.25122/jml-2023-0173

Article Publishing Date (print): 8 2023
Available Online: 

Journal information

ISSN Printing: 1844-122X
ISSN Online: 1844-3117
Journal Title: Journal of Medicine and Life

Copyright License: Open Access

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.


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