The incidence and prevalence of metabolic and musculoskeletal diseases are increasing. Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is characterized by insulin resistance, inflammation, advanced glycation end-product accumulation and increased oxidative stress. These characteristics can negatively affect various aspects of muscle health, including muscle mass, strength, quality and function through impairments in protein metabolism, vascular and mitochondrial dysfunction, and cell death. Sarcopenia is a term used to describe the agerelated loss in skeletal muscle mass and function and has been implicated as both a cause and consequence of T2DM. Sarcopenia may contribute to the development and progression of T2DM through altered glucose disposal due to low muscle mass, and also increased localized inflammation, which can arise through inter-and intramuscular adipose tissue accumulation. Lifestyle modifications are important for improving and maintaining mobility and metabolic health in individuals with T2DM and sarcopenia. However, evidence for the most effective and feasible exercise and dietary interventions in this population is lacking. In this review, we discuss the current literature highlighting the bidirectional relationship between T2DM and sarcopenia, highlight current research gaps and treatments, and provide recommendations for future research.

Recent mental health care policy has addressed the need for health care professionals to consider the physical health of consumers. Mental health nurses are particularly well-placed for this role. To provide mental health nurses with practical information, this narrative review summarises evidence from recent research on the physical health of individuals with Serious Mental Illness (SMI). In those with SMI, the international prevalence of obesity, the metabolic syndrome, diabetes mellitus, symptoms of cardiovascular disease, and respiratory disease all exceed that of the general population by at least two times, and HIV prevalence may be increased by as much as eight times. This increased prevalence of chronic disease may be largely responsible for an increased risk of death of up to five times, resulting in as much as 30 years of potential life lost. Of particular concern, the recent evidence suggests that for physical health and increased mortality, the gap between individuals with SMI and the general population is worsening. Unhealthy lifestyle behaviours undoubtedly play a role in the development of poor physical health and chronic disease, and the present review indicates that low physical activity, poor diet, smoking, alcohol and substance abuse, and risky sexual behaviour are common in individuals with SMI. This narrative review demonstrates that the prevalence of poor physical health and health behaviours in people with SMI far exceed that observed in the general population, and reinforces the urgent need for mental health nurses to address physical health concerns in patients.

Protein and several other dietary nutrients are associated with muscle mass and rate of muscle loss (but not strength) in older adults, suggesting that multiple dietary components may ameliorate the progression of sarcopenia.

Body composition and muscle function have important implications for falls and fractures in older adults. We aimed to investigate longitudinal associations between sarcopenic obesity and its components with bone mineral density (BMD) and incident falls and fractures in Australian community-dwelling older men. A total of 1486 men aged ≥70 years from the Concord Health and Ageing in Men Project (CHAMP) study were assessed at baseline (2005-2007), 2-year follow-up (2007-2009; n = 1238), and 5-year follow-up (2010-2013; n = 861). At all three time points, measurements included appendicular lean mass (ALM), body fat percentage and total hip BMD, hand-grip strength, and gait speed. Participants were contacted every 4 months for 6.1 ± 2.1 years to ascertain incident falls and fractures, the latter being confirmed by radiographic reports. Sarcopenic obesity was defined using sarcopenia algorithms of the European Working Group on Sarcopenia (EWGSOP) and the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) and total body fat ≥30% of total mass. Sarcopenic obese men did not have significantly different total hip BMD over 5 years compared with non-sarcopenic non-obese men (p > 0.05). EWGSOP-defined sarcopenic obesity at baseline was associated with significantly higher 2-year fall rates (incidence rate ratio [IRR] 1.66; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.16-2.37), as were non-sarcopenic obesity (1.30; 1.04-1.62) and sarcopenic non-obesity (1.58; 1.14-2.17), compared with non-sarcopenic non-obese. No association with falls was found for sarcopenic obesity using the FNIH definition (1.01; 0.63-1.60), but after multivariable adjustment, the FNIH-defined non-sarcopenic obese group had a reduced hazard for any 6-year fracture compared with sarcopenic obese men (hazard ratio 0.44; 95% CI 0.23-0.86). In older men, EWGSOP-defined sarcopenic obesity is associated with increased fall rates over 2 years, and FNIH-defined sarcopenic obese men have increased fracture risk over 6 years compared with non-sarcopenic obese men. © 2016 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.

25OHD may be important for the maintenance of muscle function, and higher skeletal muscle mass and function as well as general PA levels may also be beneficial for 25OHD status, in community-dwelling older adults.