Diabetes Associated with Faster Loss of Muscle Strength in the Elder
ly
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Elderly people with type 2 diabetes show
accelerated loss of skeletal muscle strength compared to those without
diabetes, Korean and US researchers report in the June issue of Diabetes
Care.
Lead investigator Dr. Seok Won Park told Reuters Health that "older adults
with diabetes lost their leg muscle strength about 50% faster than
non-diabetic counterparts. This may explain the two-fold higher risk of
developing physical disability in the diabetic elderly, because lower
extremity strength is essential to maintain physical function of the body."
To investigate longitudinal changes of muscle mass and strength in
community-dwelling older adults with and without type 2 diabetes, Dr. Park
of Bundang CHA University, Sungnam and colleagues studied data on 1840
subjects aged 70 to 79 years. Of this group, 305 had type 2 diabetes.
Leg and arm muscle mass and strength were measured at baseline and 3 years
later. The diabetic group showed greater declines in leg muscle mass than
did the non-diabetic subjects (-0.29 versus -0.23 kg; p
Maximal leg muscle strength per unit of muscle mass also declined more
rapidly in the diabetic group (-1.6 versus -1.2 Nm/kg), the team found.
However, there were no between-group differences in changes in arm muscle
strength and quality.
Summing up, the researchers note that an approximately "50% more rapid
decline in the knee extensor strength in older adults with diabetes was not
accounted for by a greater loss of leg muscle mass."
These and other findings, they conclude, suggest that "diabetes may result
in functional impairments in muscular function of the lower extremities, not
necessarily accompanied by loss of muscle mass."
Diabetes Care 2007;30:1507-1512.