Association of sarcopenia with both latent autoimmune diabetes in adults and type 2 diabetes: A cross-sectional study

Background To investigate the association of both latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA) and type 2 diabetes (T2DM) with muscle mass and function (sarcopenia). Methods Japanese patients with LADA (N = 20), T2DM (N = 208), and control subjects (N = 41) were included in this cross-sectional study. The definition of LADA was based on age of onset (≥ 30), positive glutamic acid decarboxylase autoantibodies, and insulin requirement within the first 6 months after diagnosis. Sarcopenia was diagnosed by the criteria for Asians, using skeletal muscle index (male < 7.0 and female < 5.4) and grip strength (male < 26.0 kg and female < 18.0 kg). The odds ratio (OR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) was estimated using logistic regression. Results The prevalence of sarcopenia was higher in LADA (35.0%) than in either T2DM (13.3%) or control subjects (9.8%). LADA was significantly associated with an increased risk for sarcopenia in a multivariate model in which age and body mass index were incorporated (OR: 9.57, 95% CI: 1.86–49.27). In contrast, T2DM tended to be associated with an increased risk for sarcopenia (OR: 2.99, 95% CI: 0.83–10.80). Conclusions This study provides evidence that patients with LADA are at a high risk for sarcopenia compared to those with T2DM or to control subjects.