Association of Body Fat Percentage with Time in Range Generated by Continuous Glucose Monitoring during Continuous Subcutaneous Insulin Infusion Therapy in Type 2 Diabetes

BACKGROUND: Obesity is a crucial risk factor associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Excessive accumulation of body fat may affect the glycemia control in T2DM. This study investigated the relationship between body fat percentage and time in range (TIR) assessed by continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) during short-term continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) therapy in T2DM patients. METHOD: A total of 85 T2DM patients were recruited in this cross-sectional study. All participants underwent 72 h CGM period during short-term CSII therapy. TIR was defined as the percentage of time spent within the target glucose range of 3.9-10.0 mmol/L. Body composition was measured using bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) and overfat was defined as an amount of body fat of at least 25% of total body mass for men or at least 30% for women. Multiple linear regression models were used to evaluate the independent association of body fat percentage with TIR after adjusting for confounding factors. RESULTS: Compared with normal fat T2DM patients, individual with a higher body fat percentage exhibited lower levels of TIR (P = 0.004) and higher 72 h mean blood glucose (72 h MBG) (P = 0.001) during short-term CSII treatment. The prevalence of overfat assessed by body fat percentage decreased with the ascending TIR tertiles (P < 0.05). Multiple linear regression analysis indicated that body fat percentage was significantly associated with TIR independent of age, gender, diabetes duration, HbA1c, and BMI (P = 0.043). CONCLUSIONS: Body fat percentage was significantly associated with TIR in T2DM during short-term CSII therapy. Reduction of body fat may be an important therapeutic target to improve glycemic control in high body fat T2DM patients, who may benefit less from intensive insulin treatment.