Association of sarcopenia with osteoporosis in patients with type 2 diabetes

Abstract

Abstract Background: Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) present a higher tendency to develop sarcopenia and osteoporosis compared with the normal population. Currently, osteoporosis screening has been frequently performed among T2DM patients, but sarcopenia screening is relatively less, and the association between the two diseases remains unclear. Herein, this study aims to determine the association between sarcopenia and osteoporosis in T2DM patients. Methods: This was a retrospective study of 678 patients with T2DM in the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University. The bone mineral density (BMD) and muscle mass were measured by using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scanning. The diagnostic criteria of sarcopenia referred to the consensus by the Asia Working Group for Sarcopenia (AWGS). Result: Among T2DM patients, the proportion of the sarcopenia population complicated with osteopenia (38.9% vs. 33.7%) and osteoporosis (35.4% vs. 17.5%) was significantly higher than that of the non-sarcopenia population (P < 0.01). The BMD of the hip and femoral neck was positively correlated with skeletal muscle mass index (SMI), grip strength, and gait speed (P < 0.01). After adjusting all covariates, the association between sarcopenia and BMD showed odds ratios of 0.43 (95% CI:0.28-0.66) for the femoral neck and 0.49 (95% CI:0.32-0.73) for the hip. Conclusions: The BMD of the hip and femoral neck in T2DM patients is related to sarcopenia-related indicators and represents an independent protective factor for sarcopenia.