ABSTRACT
Objective:To analyze the mean levels of skeletal muscle mass and strength in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM), and to investigate the effects of chronic inflammatory factors and oxidative stress on them.Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted on 120 patients with T2DM aged over 60 years and 126 elderly patients without diabetes(the control group). Skeletal muscle mass, strength and serum levels of chronic inflammatory factors interleukin-6(IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α)and 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine(8-OHdG)were determined, and their effects on skeletal muscle mass and strength in elderly patients with T2DM were analyzed.Results:Compared with the control group, grip strength decreased in elderly patients with T2DM(25.03±7.85)kg vs.(29.52±7.73)kg( P<0.01), and skeletal muscle mass decreased(21.36±5.46)kg vs.(22.01±5.22)kg with no significant difference( P>0.05). Serum levels of 8-OHdG were higher in elderly patients with T2DM than in the control group(3.08±0.26)ng/L vs.(2.59±0.16)ng/L( P<0.01). Correlation and regression analysis results showed that 8-OHdG was an influencing factor for muscle strength in elderly patients with T2DM( R2=0.457)and that height and weight could be influencing factors for skeletal muscle mass in elderly patients with T2DM( R2=0.822). Conclusions:Skeletal muscle mass and strength decline in elderly T2DM patients, probably as a result of increased levels of oxidative stress.These findings may serve as evidence for sarcopenia intervention in elderly T2DM patients.