Abstract
Omega-3 fatty acids intake is important to maintain muscle mass. However, the relationship between omega-3 fatty acids intake and sarcopenia in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes has been unclear. We used the brief-type self-administered diet history questionnaire for the assessment of habitual food and nutrient intake. Body composition of patients was evaluated using bioimpedance analysis. To investigate the effect of energy intake on the presence of sarcopenia, we performed logistic regression analyses. Among the patients, 45 patients (13.2%) were diagnosed as sarcopenia. Patients with sarcopenia were aged [74.2 (5.7) vs 71.4 (5.9) years, p = 0.003] and lower body mass index [21.2 (3.5) vs 24.3 (4.6) kg/m(2), p<0.001] than those without. In addition, omega-3 fatty acids intake of patients with sarcopenia was lower than that without [2.6 (1.0) vs 3.0 (1.2) kcal/day, p = 0.046]. Omega-3 fatty acids intake was negatively associated with the presence of sarcopenia (odds ratio: 0.29, 95% confidence interval: 0.14-0.60, p<0.001) after adjusting for age, sex, exercise, smoking status, diabetes duration, hemoglobin A1c, energy intake, protein intake, fat intake and omega-3 fatty acids intake. Omega-3 fatty acids intake was negatively associated with the presence of sarcopenia in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes.