A recent study published in Diabetology and Metabolic Syndrome demonstrated the role of calf circumference (CC) in predicting nutritional risk and mortality in type 2 diabetes patients above 80 years of age.
The study aimed to evaluate the factors predicting mortality in T2D patients and to determine if low CC can predict nutritional risk and the cut-off value of CC in older T2D patients. The study involved 296 older patients with T2D. A follow-up of 2.5 years was done in these patients.
Results showed that in the nutritional risk group, A significantly lower CC level was seen compared to the non-nutritional risk group with T2D (26.7 ± 4.1 cm vs. 30.2 ± 3.9 cm. The independent risk factors for nutritional risk were a new insulin resistance index of triglyceride glucose (TyG) and decreased CC with odds ratios of 2.14 and 6.79, respectively. For predicting nutritional risk, the best cut-off value for CC was 27.8 cm. Decreased CC also served as an independent risk factor for mortality.
• A decreased CC is associated with both nutritional risk and increased mortality in type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients aged over 80 years.
• Calf circumference can serve as a simple and effective index to identify high-risk elderly individuals with T2D.
• In elderly T2D patients, the strategies for prevention should be focused more on conserving muscle mass and not only on targeting metabolic disorders.
Ren, C., Zhu, Y., Tao, J. et al. The association of calf circumference with nutritional risk and mortality in type 2 diabetes patients aged over 80 years in Chinese inpatients. Diabetol Metab Syndr 17, 241 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13098-025-01830-5
There is a role of calf circumference (CC) in predicting nutritional risk and mortality in type 2 diabetes patients above 80 years of age.