China: Fat-to-muscle ratio (FMR) is associated with cardiometabolic disorders (CMD) and insulin resistance (IR) in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM), a recent study has found.
The findings, published in Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, could be used as a promising treatment for targeting treatment in type 1 diabetes.
The fat-to-muscle ratio has been proposed as an alternative approach for the assessment of body fat. Xia Li from The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, China, and colleagues aimed to investigate the correlation of the fat-to-muscle ratio with insulin resistance and cardiometabolic disorders in patients with type 1 diabetes.

For this purpose, the researchers retrospectively recruited 420 adults with T1DM [52.6% men, median age 32.4 years]. Bioelectrical impedance analysis was used to assess body composition and FMR was calculated. A comparison was drawn of the characteristics of the overall participants between tertiles of FMR. The association of FMR tertiles with IR and cardiometabolic risk factors was assessed using Logistic regression analyses.
The study revealed the following findings:
Median age and median haemoglobin A1c of all participants were 32.4 years and 7.4 %, respectively.
The prevalence of IR and CMD was 18% and 38.6%. The FMR significantly differed between men and women [0.39 versus 0.74, respectively].
The proportion of insulin resistance and CMD gradually increased as the FMR increased.
In men, the multivariable-adjusted odd ratios for IR and CMD in FMR tertile 3 compared with tertile 1 were 4.8, respectively.
The corresponding odd ratios were 4.0 for insulin resistance and 5.8 for CMD for women.
"The findings showed that the fat-to-muscle ratio is associated with insulin resistance and cardiometabolic disorders in adults with type 1 diabetes," the researchers wrote.
"Based on these findings, fat-to-muscle ratio seems to be a promising parameter for targeting treatment in patients with type 1 diabetes," they concluded.
Reference:
Huang F, Ji X, Wang Z, Yin Y, Fan L, Li J, Zhou Z, Li X. Fat-to-muscle ratio is associated with insulin resistance and cardiometabolic disorders in adults with type 1 diabetes mellitus. Diabetes Obes Metab. 2023 Nov;25(11):3181-3191. doi: 10.1111/dom.15212. Epub 2023 Jul 17. PMID: 37455673.