Despite its serious implications, sarcopenia’s impact on elderly type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients remains under-researched in clinical settings. Given these challenges, there is a clear need for further investigation into how sarcopenia affects elderly diabetics.
Researchers from the Department of Geriatrics at Peking Union Medical College Hospital conducted a four-year prospective cohort study from January 2017 to January 2021. Their study (DOI: 10.12290/xhyxzz.2024-0287), published on July 3, 2024, in Medical Journal of Peking Union Medical College Hospital, included 244 elderly inpatients with T2DM. Utilizing the 2014 diagnostic criteria from the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia, the team examined the long-term outcomes of these patients, focusing on the risks of severe disability, rehospitalization, and all-cause mortality.
The study revealed that 25.4% of the elderly diabetic patients had sarcopenia, with a median follow-up of 5.6 years. Those with sarcopenia were 4.7 times more likely to experience severe disability, 1.7 times more likely to be rehospitalized, and 2.3 times more likely to die from any cause, even after adjusting for factors like age, gender, and comorbidities. Additionally, the research noted that sarcopenia patients had worse nutritional status, higher rates of incontinence, and a history of falls, all contributing to their poorer long-term outcomes.
