Association between sarcopenic obesity and higher risk of type 2 diabetes in adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

BACKGROUND The coexistence of sarcopenia and obesity is referred to as sarcopenic obesity (SO) and it has been hypothesized that the two components of SO may synergistically increase their negative effects. However, many uncertainties still surround this condition especially with regard to its potential negative effects on health outcomes. AIM To conduct a systematic review to determine the prevalence of sarcopenia among adults with overweight and obesity and to investigate whether SO was associated with a higher risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D). METHODS This study was conducted in adherence with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Literature searches, study selection, methodology development and quality appraisal were performed independently by two authors and the data were collated by means of meta-analysis and narrative synthesis. RESULTS Of the 606 articles retrieved, 11 studies that comprised a total of 60118 adults with overweight and obesity of both genders met the inclusion criteria and were reviewed, revealing two main findings. First, the overall prevalence of sarcopenia is 43% in females and 42% in males who are with overweight and obesity. Secondly, the presence of SO increases the risk of T2D by 38% with respect to those without SO (OR = 1.38, 95%CI: 1.27-1.50). CONCLUSION A high prevalence of sarcopenia has been found among adults with overweight and obesity regardless of their gender and this condition seems to be associated with a higher risk of T2D. Clinician should be aware of this scenario in their clinical practice for the better management of both obesity and T2D.

Phenotypes of Sarcopenic Obesity: Exploring the Effects on Peri-Muscular Fat, the Obesity Paradox, Hormone-Related Responses and the Clinical Implications

“…Similarly, Baumgartner et al [83] demonstrated that although T2DM was more frequent in sarcopenic subjects, the prevalence of T2DM was found to be highest in the nonsarcopenic obese group, followed by that of the sarcopenic obese group, and the lowest being in the sarcopenic nonobese group. Conversely, a recent systematic review and meta-analysis of 11 studies showed that sarcopenic obesity increased the risk of T2DM by 38% when compared with sarcopenia or obesity alone [108]. However, these results need to be interpreted with caution as the cross-sectional design of the studies reviewed indicated simple associations between sarcopenic obesity and T2DM without providing definitive information regarding causal relationships between the two conditions.…”

Sarcopenic obesity in ageing: cardiovascular outcomes and mortality

“…However, sarcopenic non-obese and non-sarcopenic obese participants were not associated with an increased 10-year CVD risk. More recently, a meta-analysis of studies examining the associations between sarcopenia obesity and type 2 diabetes has been performed, with eleven studies including a total of 60 118 adults who were overweight or obese (75) . Sarcopenic obesity was significantly associated with a 38 % increase in risk of type 2 diabetes compared with those without sarcopenic obesity (OR 1•38, 95 % CI 1•27, 1•50), but results should be interpreted with caution as the majority of studies were cross-sectional.…”

Dysregulated Autophagy Mediates Sarcopenic Obesity and Its Complications via AMPK and PGC1α Signaling Pathways: Potential Involvement of Gut Dysbiosis as a Pathological Link

“…Another study showed that patients with SOB have a higher risk of metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, and atherosclerosis [104]. According to a recent systemic review including 11 articles about the prevalence of SOB and the prevalence of diabetes, co-existence of sarcopenia and obesity increases the risk of type 2 diabetes by nearly 38% when compared with those with obesity alone [105]. The five-year study with 1231 men aged over 70 years demonstrated that older men with SOB have increased probability of common metabolic syndrome compared with counterparts with healthy body habitus [106].…”