Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of elderly patients with diabetes according to sarcopenia status in this study
| Variables | Total (n=752) | No sarcopenia (n=49) | Possible sarcopenia (n=557) | Sarcopenia (n=146) | P value |
| Age (years) | 66.0 (62.5–72.0) | 64.0 (62.0–68.0) | 66.0 (62.0–70.0) | 70.0 (65.0–75.0) | <0.001 |
| >Median (vs ≤median) | 15 (30.6) | 253 (45.4) | 97 (66.4) | <0.001 | |
| Gender (%) | |||||
| Female (vs male) | 384 (51.1) | 20 (40.8) | 289 (51.9) | 75 (51.4) | 0.330 |
| Handgrip strength (kg) | |||||
| Male | 34.5 (28.5–40.5) | 41.5 (36.5–45.0) | 35.0 (29.8–41.0) | 29.0 (21.0–33.5) | <0.001 |
| Female | 22.8 (18.0–27.5) | 27.8 (24.6–32.3) | 23.5 (18.5–28.0) | 19.8 (16.0–23.0) | <0.001 |
| Gait speed (m/s)* | 0.66 (0.52–0.79) | 1.10 (1.04–1.18) | 0.64 (0.52–0.78) | 0.62 (0.49–0.71) | <0.001 |
| 5-time chair stand test (s)* | 10.5 (8.8–13.2) | 9.5 (6.9–19.5) | 10.3 (8.6–13.0) | 11.9 (9.6–14.0) | <0.001 |
| ASM/Ht2 (kg/m2) | |||||
| Male | 7.61 (7.10–8.16) | 7.71 (7.47–8.41) | 7.84 (7.40–8.24) | 6.71 (6.44–6.87) | <0.001 |
| Female | 5.89 (5.38–6.55) | 6.28 (5.55–6.57) | 6.16 (5.71–6.72) | 4.90 (4.67–5.06) | <0.001 |
| Residence (%) | |||||
| Rural (vs urban) | 432 (57.4) | 21 (42.9) | 300 (53.9) | 111 (76.0) | <0.001 |
| Education (%) | |||||
| Less than lower secondary | 705 (93.8) | 42 (85.7) | 520 (93.4) | 143 (97.9) | <0.001 |
| Upper secondary or vocational training | 28 (3.7) | 3 (6.1) | 23 (4.1) | 2 (1.4) | |
| Tertiary | 19 (2.5) | 4 (8.2) | 14 (2.5) | 1 (0.7) | |
| Ever/current smoke (%)* | 303 (40.5) | 21 (42.9) | 220 (39.6) | 62 (43.1) | 0.704 |
| Ever/current drinking (%)* | 295 (39.5) | 18 (36.7) | 215 (38.8) | 62 (43.1) | 0.598 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 24.1 (21.6–26.9) | 24.4 (22.3–26.9) | 25.1 (23.0–27.6) | 19.4 (18.0–20.3) | <0.001 |
| Overweight (%) | 307 (40.8) | 23 (46.9) | 283 (50.8) | 1 (0.7) | <0.001 |
| Blood pressure (mm Hg)* | |||||
| Systolic | 137.5 (124.0–151.5) | 130.5 (124.0–141.0) | 139.5 (124.5–153.0) | 135.3 (120.3–149.3) | 0.014 |
| Diastolic | 75.5 (68.0–82.5) | 73.5 (68.0–81.0) | 76.0 (68.5–83.5) | 73.5 (63.8–80.3) | 0.006 |
| Diabetes management (%) | |||||
| Unawareness (vs awareness) | 447 (59.4) | 27 (55.1) | 308 (55.3) | 112 (76.7) | <0.001 |
| Untreatment (vs treatment) | 554 (73.7) | 33 (67.3) | 397 (71.3) | 124 (84.9) | 0.002 |
| Plasma glucose (mg/dL)† | 140.1 (126.4–176.0) | 137.9 (120.2–164.7) | 141.1 (126.5–177.8) | 138.2 (127.3–173.5) | 0.665 |
| HbA1c (%) | 5.8 (5.2–6.9) | 6.1 (5.3–7.2) | 5.9 (5.3–7.1) | 5.5 (5.1–6.2) | <0.001 |
| TC (mg/dL) | 195.9 (168.2–223.3) | 186.0 (160.8–237.0) | 197.9 (170.9–222.3) | 191.4 (160.8–224.6) | 0.292 |
| TG (mg/dL) | 128.3 (89.4–200.5) | 147.8 (96.5–232.8) | 137.2 (97.4–211.5) | 102.2 (76.1–143.4) | <0.001 |
| LDL-C (mg/dL)* | 115.2 (90.5–139.9) | 111.1 (88.7–134.5) | 116.4 (92.0–141.1) | 108.2 (85.8–133.3) | 0.198 |
| HDL-C (mg/dL) | 45.2 (37.1–54.9) | 41.4 (34.4–49.9) | 43.7 (37.1–52.2) | 52.6 (44.1–63.4) | <0.001 |
| hs-CRP (mg/L) | 1.47 (0.75–3.47) | 1.89 (0.84–3.33) | 1.53 (0.81–3.50) | 1.09 (0.64–2.78) | 0.018 |
| Uric acid (mg/dL) | 4.61 (3.75–5.57) | 4.65 (3.78–5.50) | 4.71 (3.83–5.62) | 4.30 (3.50–5.25) | 0.003 |
| eGFR (mL/min/1.73 m2) | 85.5 (54.1–95.4) | 94.2 (70.9–98.4) | 84.3 (52.0–95.2) | 86.5 (59.4–95.5) | 0.013 |
| TG/HDL-C | 2.81 (1.74–5.20) | 3.89 (1.92–6.51) | 3.05 (1.96–5.61) | 1.88 (1.15–3.09) | <0.001 |
| Quartile 1 (≤1.73) | 9 (18.4) | 115 (20.6) | 64 (43.8) | <0.001 | |
| Quartile 2 (1.74–2.81) | 10 (20.4) | 139 (25.0) | 39 (26.7) | ||
| Quartile 3 (2.82–5.19) | 15 (30.6) | 148 (26.6) | 25 (17.1) | ||
| Quartile 4 (>5.19) | 15 (30.6) | 155 (27.8) | 18 (12.3) |
Data are shown as means±SD, median (IQR) or numbers (percentages).
The significant P values were highlighted by bold font.
*Missing data: 38 for gait speed, 43 for 5-time chair stand test, 3 for history of smoking, 5 for history of drinking, 14 for blood pressure and 5 for LDL-C.
†Among the measurements of plasma glucose, 39 participants were non-fasting.
ASM/Ht2, the height-adjusted muscle mass; BMI, the body mass index; eGFR, the estimated glomerular filtration rate; HbA1c, glycated haemoglobin; HDL-C, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio; hs-CRP, high-sensitivity C reactive protein; LDL-C, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol; TC, total cholesterol; TG, triglyceride; TG/HDL-C, triglyceride to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio.