DIABETES

Diabetic risk increase is driven by both excess fat mass and low muscle mass. However, body composition methods for diabetic risk are inaccurate or inconsistent. Quantification of muscle and fat mass by region provides a more in-depth view of segmental and overall body composition and allows for better diagnosis of diabetes risk and guidance of treatment options.

Diabetes is often associated with excess fat, however having insufficient muscle mass is just as detrimental and increases diabetes risk. Leg muscles are the largest muscle group in the body and therefore serve as a driver for glucose uptake; low leg muscle mass is associated with increased risk of insulin resistance.

With InBody, medical professionals can assess and monitor a patient’s composition of muscle and fat. Outputs such as Segmental Lean Mass and Leg Lean Mass provide deeper insight into the composition of leg muscle as well as the storage of fat across the body. By monitoring these factors and setting specific treatment programs to address the patient’s unique physiology, physicians and educators can track the progress and success of treatments and interventions.

Systemic inflammation caused by excess visceral fat and inflammatory hormones increase fluid retention and a patient’s risk for developing comorbidities, such as cardiovascular and renal disease. Direct and objective measures of body water can increase detection of water retention and reduce risk of secondary health conditions linked to diabetes.

By using InBody, medical professionals can track whole body ECW/TBW, a marker of inflammation and fluid imbalance, through the direct measurement of extracellular and total body water. Monitoring the Edema Index (ECW/TBW) provides an assessment of fluid accumulation in the extracellular space resulting from compromised cardiovascular function.

These measures are provided for the whole body as well as ratios specific to each segment of the arms, legs, and trunk to identify where fluid imbalances may be occurring allowing for more precise analysis and earlier indication of truncal or leg edema, aiding cardiology professionals to develop more effective fluid management strategies to improve patient outcomes.

The best way to prevent or reverse diabetes is by making health-focused behavioral and lifestyle changes. However, health professionals often have a hard time keeping patients engaged in a diet and exercise regimen. With a comprehensive body composition report, InBody devices show patients the changes that ordinary weight scales are incapable of showing and provide an educational outline to start a discussion towards lifestyle change. In addition, patients and providers can use the Body Composition History section to chart their progress throughout interventions and make adjustments to optimize results and health outcomes.

Diabetics patients tend to lose muscle mass. This loss in muscle mass tends to increase with the duration of diabetes, thus leading to the development of other conditions, including sarcopenia. InBody provides a skeletal muscle index (SMI) output that allows for the monitoring of skeletal muscle mass to help prevent or identify sarcopenia.

It is well known that skeletal muscle mass is important to monitor for diabetics. This results from glucose not being utilized to assist in building muscle as well as decreased physical activity causing muscle mass to deplete. This can also cause increased fatigue and further reduction of physical activity and function. The resulting decrease in muscle mass experienced by these patients increases the risk for other conditions such as sarcopenia and impaired mobility.

Sarcopenia is the loss of skeletal muscle mass that decreases functional mobility and quality of life and increases the risk of hospitalization and mobility. Sarcopenia is often associated with aging which can occur in a variety of populations due to sedentary behavior or even disease. The SMI is used in order to assess and conveniently monitor skeletal muscle mass to aid in the diagnosis of sarcopenia. SMI is calculated as the sum of appendicular lean mass normalized to height.

With the prevalence of muscle loss in diabetics and the association diabetes and sarcopenia, monitoring risk for sarcopenia in diabetics is imperative. Using the SMI output on InBody results will allow medical professionals to identify the risk of sarcopenia in easily identify increased frailty risk and promote education and intervention.