Rocco Barazzoni, John L. Sievenpiper, Laurence Genton, Cyril W.C. Kendall, María D. Ballesteros‐Pomar, Annalisa Giosuè, Yves Boirie, Laura Chiavaroli, Tommy Cederholm, Anne‐Marie Aas, Cristina Cuerda, Charilaos Dimosthenopoulos, Nicolaas E.P. Deutz, Hana Kahleová, Lorenzo M. Donini, Ursula Schwab, S. Schneider, Gabriele Riccardi, Stanisław Kłęk, Jordi Salas‐Salvadó, M. León‐Sanz, Jeffrey I. Mechanick
Approximately one quarter of adults with diabetes are affected by SO, indicating a substantial clinical and public health burden. The prevalence of SO varied by patient source, sex, geographic region, assessment method, and diagnostic criteria, highlighting the need for standardized assessment. The reported associated factors suggest that SO is closely associated with adiposity, glycemic metabolism, physical function, and diabetes-related clinical characteristics. These findings support targeted screening, early identification, and integrated management to improve SO detection and reduce potential adverse outcomes.
Diabetes mellitus is a systemic chronic disease with growing prevalence and potential multiorgan complications leading to clinical, social, and economic burdens. Nutritional and metabolic derangements are important components of both type 1 (T1DM) and type 2 diabetes (T2DM), but assessment of nutritional state, body composition and muscle function is commonly neglected. Likely reasons include high prevalence of overweight, obesity, or excess visceral fat in highly-prevalent T2DM, potentially diverting attention from undernutrition risk. Diabetes and adiposity are mechanistically related to sarcopenia, defined as reduction of skeletal muscle strength and mass, through complex muscle-catabolic derangements, conferring additional risk for negative outcomes. Awareness of diabetes-induced muscle abnormalities remains low among healthcare professionals, patients and policymakers, contributing to research, knowledge and practice gaps. Lifestyle recommendations and treatments centered on nutritional care and physical activity to preserve and improve muscle mass and function remain poorly implemented. The European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (ESPEN) and the Diabetes Nutrition Study Group (DNSG), reference group for the European Association for the Study of Diabetes, recognize sarcopenic diabetes as a distinct clinical condition and priority for research and education, and call for action to enhance awareness, stimulate research and promote consensus on sarcopenic diabetes diagnostic criteria, prevention and management.