Risk Factors Associated with Sarcopenia in Workers with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Markets in Loja, Ecuador. A Pilot Study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.62059/xrpcph25Keywords:
body composition, sarcopenia, type 2 diabetes mellitus, electric impedance, skeletal muscle massAbstract
Introduction: Sarcopenia is a progressive disorder characterized by the loss of muscle mass and function, particularly among individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Objective: To evaluate the risk of sarcopenia among workers with type 2 diabetes mellitus from market centers in Loja during 2025. Methods: An observational analytical cross-sectional study00 was conducted in 46 workers previously diagnosed with T2DM. Sarcopenia was assessed through handgrip strength, gait speed, and body composition measured by bioelectrical impedance analysis, according to EWGSOP2 criteria. Descriptive statistics, analysis of variance, and binary logistic regression were performed. Results: Mean age was 59 ± 13 years and 76.1% were women. Risk of sarcopenia was identified in 28.3% of participants, while 4.4% had sarcopenia or severe sarcopenia. Significant differences were observed in skeletal muscle mass and skeletal muscle mass index according to sarcopenia status (p = 0.006). Skeletal muscle mass showed a protective effect against sarcopenia risk (OR = 0.665; 95% CI: 0.429-0.982). Conclusions: A considerable proportion of workers with diabetes were at risk of sarcopenia. Skeletal muscle mass was inversely associated with this condition, highlighting the importance of body composition assessment in diabetic patients.References
1. Federación Internacional de Diabetes. Datos y cifras sobre la diabetes [Internet]. 2025 [cited 2025 May 7]. Available from: https://idf.org/es/about-diabetes/diabetes-facts-figures/
2. Federación Internacional de Diabetes. Diabetes en Ecuador (2024) [Internet]. 2025 [cited 2025 Oct 20]. Available from: https://idf.org/es/our-network/regions-and-members/south-and-central-america/members/ecuador/
3. Organización Panamerica de la Salud. Diabetes [Internet]. 2025;1–14. Available from: https://www.paho.org/es/temas/diabetes
4. Izzo A, Massimino E, Riccardi G, Della Pepa G. A Narrative Review on Sarcopenia in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: Prevalence and Associated Factors. Nutrients. 2021 Jan 9;13(1):183. doi:10.3390/NU13010183 PubMed PMID: 33435310.
5. Zhang FM, Wu HF, Shi HP, Yu Z, Zhuang C Le. Sarcopenia and malignancies: epidemiology, clinical classification and implications. Ageing Res Rev. 2023;91(September 2023):102057. doi: 10.1016/j.arr.2023.102057 PubMed PMID: 37666432.
6. Feng L, Gao Q, Hu K, Wu M, Wang Z, Chen F, et al. Prevalence and Risk Factors of Sarcopenia in Patients With Diabetes: A Meta-analysis. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2022 Apr 19;107(5):1470–83. doi:10.1210/CLINEM/DGAB884 PubMed PMID: 34904651.
7. Wang D, Zhang G, Yu Y, Zhang Z. Imaging of Sarcopenia in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. Clin Interv Aging. 2024;19:141. doi:10.2147/CIA.S443572 PubMed PMID: 38292460.
8. Anagnostis P, Gkekas NK, Achilla C, Pananastasiou G, Taouxidou P, Mitsiou M, et al. Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus is Associated with Increased Risk of Sarcopenia: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Calcif Tissue Int. 2020 Aug 9;107(5):453-63. doi:10.1007/S00223-020-00742-y. PubMed PMID: 32772138.
9. Instituto Ecuatoriano de Seguridad Social. La pérdida muscular en la mujer de edad adulta aumenta en Ecuador - Sala de prensa [Internet]. [cited 2025 Oct 23]. Available from: https://www.iess.gob.ec/es/sala-de-prensa/-/asset_publisher/4DHq/content/la-perdida-muscular-en-la-mujer-de-edad-adulta-aumenta-en-ecuador/10174?redirect=https://www.iess.gob.ec/es/sala-de-prensa%3Fp_p_id%3D101_INSTANCE_4DHq%26p_p_lifecycle%3D0%26p_p_stat
10. Luzuriaga A, Bedoya E, Machado G, Orellana A. Sarcopenia y estado nutricional en adultos mayores que residen en los centros geriátricos de la ciudad de Cuenca en el período Febrero - Julio 2022. Revista Ecuatoriana de Nutrición Clínica y Metabolismo [Internet]. 2023 Jun 25 [cited 2025 May 11];5(1). Available from: https://senpeazuay.org.ec/ojs/index.php/renc/article/view/20
11. Checklists - STROBE [Internet]. [cited 2026 Jun 8]. Available from: https://www.strobe-statement.org/checklists/
12. Organización Mundial de la Salud. Versión Panamericana del Instrumento del método progresivo (STEPS) Cuestionario básico y cuestionario ampliado a aplicarse en Ecuador Método progresivo de la OMS para la vigilancia de los factores de riesgo de las enfermedades no transmisibles (STEPS) [Internet]. 2018 [cited 2026 Jun 28]. Available from: www.who.int/chp/steps
13. Rathnayake N, Abeygunasekara T, Liyanage G, Subasinghe S, De Zoysa W, Palangasinghe D, et al. SARC-F: an effective screening tool for detecting sarcopenia and predicting health-related quality of life in older women in Sri Lanka. BMC Geriatr. 2025 Dec 1;25(1):129. doi:10.1186/S12877-025-05786-Z PubMed PMID: 40000973.
14. Sánchez NJS, Gómez MAH. Cómo valorar la sarcopenia. FMC. 2025 Dec 1;32(10):537–40. doi:10.1016/J.FMC.2025.02.013
15. Cruz-Jentoft AJ, Bahat G, Bauer J, Boirie Y, Bruyère O, Cederholm T, et al. Sarcopenia: revised European consensus on definition and diagnosis. Age Ageing. 2019;48(1):16-31.
16. Meng S, He X, Fu X, Zhang X, Tong M, Li W, et al. The prevalence of sarcopenia and risk factors in the older adult in China: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Front Public Health. 2024;12. doi:10.3389/FPUBH.2024.1415398 PubMed PMID: 39161853.
17. Ai Y, Xu R, Liu L. The prevalence and risk factors of sarcopenia in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Diabetol Metab Syndr. 2021 Sep 3;13(1):93. doi:10.1186/s13098-021-00707-7. PubMed PMID: 34479652.
18. Lee SR, Lee SY, Park EJ, Lee Y, Choi JI, Kwon RJ, et al. Association between cumulative pack-year smoking exposure and sarcopenia: a KoGES cohort study. Int J Epidemiol. 2025 Apr 12;54(3). doi:10.1093/IJE/DYAF035 PubMed PMID: 40338529.
19. Yuenyongchaiwat K, Akekawatchai C. Prevalence and incidence of sarcopenia and low physical activity among community-dwelling older Thai people: a preliminary prospective cohort study 2-year follow-up. PeerJ. 2022 Apr 22;10:e13320. doi:10.7717/PEERJ.13320/SUPP-2
20. Liu C, Cheng KYK, Tong X, Cheung WH, Chow SKH, Law SW, et al. The role of obesity in sarcopenia and the optimal body composition to prevent against sarcopenia and obesity. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2023 Mar 1;14:1077255. doi:10.3389/FENDO.2023.1077255/TEXT
21. González-Gutiérrez J, López-Gómez JJ, Pérez-López P, Cebriá Á, Izaola-Jáuregui O, Estévez-Asensio L, et al. Impact of diabetes and its complications on nutritional assessment in disease-related malnutrition: A cross-sectional study. Endocrinol Diabetes Nutr. 2025. doi:10.1016/J.ENDINU.2025.501720
22. Rubino F, Batterham RL, Koch M, Mingrone G, le Roux CW, Farooqi IS, et al. Definition and diagnostic criteria of clinical obesity. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol. 2025;13(3):221-238. doi:10.1016/S2213-8587(24)00316-4.
23. Sravya SL, Swain J, Sahoo AK, Mangaraj S, Kanwar J, Jadhao P, et al. Sarcopenia in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: Study of the Modifiable Risk Factors Involved. Journal of Clinical Medicine 2023, Vol 12, Page 5499. 2023 Aug 24;12(17):5499. doi:10.3390/JCM12175499
24. Prado CM, Batsis JA, Donini LM, Gonzalez MC, Siervo M. Sarcopenic obesity in older adults: a clinical overview. Nature Reviews Endocrinology 2024 20:5. 2024 Feb 6;20(5):261–77. doi:10.1038/s41574-023-00943-z PubMed PMID: 38321142.
25. Donini LM, Busetto L, Bischoff SC, Cederholm T, Ballesteros-Pomar MD, Batsis JA, et al. Definition and diagnostic criteria for sarcopenic obesity: ESPEN and EASO consensus statement. Clinical Nutrition. 2022 Apr 1;41(4):990–1000. doi:10.1016/J.CLNU.2021.11.014 PubMed PMID: 35227529.
26. Sun L, Fu J, Mu Z, Duan X, Chan P, Xiu S. Association between body fat and sarcopenia in older adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus: A cross-sectional study. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2023 Jan 27;14:1094075. doi:10.3389/FENDO.2023.1094075 PubMed PMID: 36777353.
27. Liu Y, Qi Y, Wang H, Zhao X, Zhang M, Ma L, et al. Predicted skeletal muscle index as a scalable marker for sarcopenia risk and mortality in older Chinese adults. Front Med (Lausanne). 2025 Aug 20;12:1640410. doi:10.3389/FMED.2025.1640410
Downloads
Status: Under review
in Revista Argentina de MedicinaRAM is a quarterly publication edited and financed by the Argentine Society of Medicine aimed at disseminating biomedical, epidemiological and social scientific topics related to the following branches of clinical medicine: bioethics, cardiology, critical care, palliative care, dermatology, pain, education, emergentology, endocrinology, epidemiology, pharmacology and…
Downloads
Posted
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Kylie Cevallos, Yoredy Sarmiento-Andrade (Autor/a)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
This preprint contains the reported license and associated copyright. Once published in an associated journal or other publisher, the published version assumes the publisher's terms and conditions.
