Impact of sarcopenia on glycemic control and atherosclerosis in Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes: Cross‐sectional study using outpatient clinical data

Aim This study examined the association among sarcopenia and various surrogate markers of atherosclerosis in Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D). Methods Patients with T2D who visited the outpatient clinic comprised the study's participants. Handgrip strength (Grip), usual gait speed (GS) and skeletal muscle index, in addition to glycated hemoglobin, ankle–brachial index (ABI) and intima‐media thickening (IMT), were measured in 1030 patients for the diagnosis of sarcopenia. From these results were obtained three categorical data (without sarcopenia [NS], sarcopenia with two factors [Sw2], sarcopenia with three factors [Sw3]), and continuous data for atherosclerosis. Results Glycated hemoglobin was significantly high among patients in the Sw3 category, as well as among all patients with sarcopenia, compared with those in the NS group, after adjustment was made for age, gender, duration of diabetes, and medications for hypertension and dyslipidemia. ABI was significantly low among the Sw2 and Sw3 patients, as well as among all patients with sarcopenia, but mean and maximum IMT were not when compared with the NS category of patients after the adjustment described above. However, skeletal muscle index, Grip and GS were positively associated with ABI after the adjustment. Grip and GS were negatively associated with maximum IMT after the adjustment. Conclusions These results imply that measurements to diagnose sarcopenia could play an important role for early detection of preclinical atherosclerosis, specifically peripheral artery disease, among Japanese patients with T2D. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2020; 20: 1196–1201 .