Association of diabetic retinopathy with both sarcopenia and muscle quality in patients with type 2 diabetes: a cross-sectional study

Objective To examine whether the existence and severity of diabetic retinopathy (DR) could be associated with the prevalent sarcopenia and muscle quality in patients with type 2 diabetes. Research design and methods This is a cross-sectional study of 316 patients with type 2 diabetes (mean age 65±12 years; 38% female). Body compositions were measured by the dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Patients were divided into three groups: patients without DR (NDR), with non-proliferative DR (NPDR) and proliferative DR (PDR). Sarcopenia was diagnosed according to the criteria for Asians, using both skeletal muscle index (SMI) and grip strength (kg). Muscle quality was also determined by the grip strength divided by SMI. Logistic regression analyses were carried out to assess the cross-sectional association of the severity of DR with sarcopenia. In addition, linear regression analyses were performed to determine the associations between DR and muscle quality. Selection of covariates in the multivariate logistic and linear regression analyses was done by a stepwise procedure. Results Among the patients examined, NDR, NPDR and PDR were diagnosed in 261, 38 and 17 patients, respectively. The prevalence of sarcopenia significantly increased along with the progression of DR. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that PDR is significantly associated with sarcopenia (OR 7.78, 95% CI 1.52 to 39.81, p=0.014) and low muscle strength (OR 6.25, 95% CI 1.15 to 33.96, p=0.034). Multivariate linear regression analysis additionally showed that the existence of DR was significantly associated with the muscle quality (standardized β −0.136, p=0.005 for NPDR, standardized β −0.146, p=0.003 for PDR). Conclusions This study provides evidence that PDR is significantly associated with sarcopenia, and the existence of DR increases the risk for low muscle quality in patients with type 2 diabetes.