Higher risk of sarcopenia in older adults with type 2 diabetes: NHANES 1999-2018

Introduction: Recent studies suggested that sarcopenia may be a significant comorbidity of diabetes mellitus (DM). Nonetheless, studies with nationally representative data are scarce, and the changing trend of sarcopenia prevalence over time is largely unknown. Therefore, we aimed to estimate and compare the prevalence of sarcopenia in diabetic and non-diabetic United States (US) older population, and to explore the potential predictors of sarcopenia as well as the trend of sarcopenia prevalent in the past decades. Methods: Data was retrieved from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Sarcopenia and DM were defined according to corresponding diagnosis criteria. Weighted prevalence was calculated and compared between diabetic and non-diabetic participants. The differences among age and ethnicity groups were explored. Results: A total of 6381 US adults (>50 years) were involved. The overall prevalence of sarcopenia was 17.8% for US elders, and the prevalence was higher (27.9% vs. 15.7%) in those with diabetes ones than those without. Stepwise regression revealed that sarcopenia was significantly associated with DM (Adjusted odds ratio=1.37, 95%CI: 1.08-1.22; P<0.05) after controlling for potential confounders including gender, age, ethnicity, educational level, BMI and muscle strengthening activity. A slightly fluctuate but overall increasing trend of sarcopenia prevalence was observed among diabetic elders while no obvious changing trend was observed in their counterparts in recent decades. Conclusion: Diabetic US older adults face significantly higher risk of sarcopenia when compared with their non-diabetic counterparts. Gender, age, ethnicity, educational level and obesity were important influencing factors of sarcopenia development.