Prevalence and risk factors for skeletal muscle mass loss in individuals with type 1 diabetes

This study aimed to the investigate prevalence and factors associated with reduced skeletal muscle mass in non-elderly adults with type 1 diabetes (T1D). Ninety-nine patients (65 women, mean age: 43 ± 11 years, range 20–65 years) with acute-onset T1D who underwent body component analysis between October 2016 and April 2018 were studied. Bioelectrical impedance analysis was used to calculate the skeletal muscle mass index (SMI) of the limbs. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was employed to identify factors related to SMI reduction. Seventeen participants (17.1%) exhibited decreased SMI. There were no significant differences in sex, age, or HbA1c between the low and normal SMI groups. The prevalence of diabetic retinopathy was 58.8% in the low SMI group, which was significantly higher than that in the normal SMI group (15.9%; p < 0.05). The duration of T1D was significantly longer in the low SMI group (25.6 ± 11.3 years) than that in the normal SMI group (20.0 ± 10.0 years, p < 0.04). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that retinopathy, male sex, and body mass index were independent risk factors for low SMI (all p < 0.05). Thus, the factors associated with decreased skeletal muscle mass in non-elderly adult patients with T1D were identified.