Body mass index is associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus in Chinese elderly

BACKGROUND: There is limited information on the association between metabolic syndrome components including body mass index (BMI) and type 2 diabetes mellitus in elderly Chinese population. Therefore, we investigated whether components of metabolic syndrome are associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus in elderly. METHODS: A total of 479 hospitalized patients (aged 65–95 years) with recently diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus were studied retrospectively in a cross-sectional study and compared with 183 subjects with prediabetes and 62 subjects without glucose metabolism abnormalities. RESULTS: BMI (24.69±3.59 versus 23.92±3.08 and 23.56±3.25 kg/m(2)), blood pressure, cholesterol, triglyceride, liver enzymes and prevalence of fatty liver were higher in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus as compared with elderly subjects with prediabetes or normal glucose metabolism separately (all P<0.05). Multivariable regression analysis showed that BMI was associated positively with insulin resistance and inversely with insulin sensitivity in type 2 diabetes mellitus group (all P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Higher BMI was associated with increased insulin resistance and decreased insulin sensitivity in elderly Asian population with type 2 diabetes mellitus.