Body composition, physical function, physical activity, sleep and metabolic health in patients with diabetes: a cohort study

The importance of body composition and physical activity for metabolic health is well established, with an emerging importance for muscle function. The main role of muscle is to allow body movements via the generation of force, with the importance of this highlighted in conditions associated with muscle mass loss, such as sarcopenia. In a recent meta-analysis, it was shown that grip strength is negatively associated with type 2 diabetes incidence. The excess risk of CVD is attenuated in those with high grip strength. How muscle strength and physical function relate to progression of type 2 diabetes remains to be established. Furthermore, diabetes accelerates the age-related loss of muscle mass and factors which determine the rate of this loss in muscle in people with type 2 diabetes have not yet been studied. There is very little known in people with type 1 diabetes. The prevalence of sarcopenia in these populations remains to be established. We aim to follow a cohort of people with pre-diabetes, type 1 and type 2 diabetes with detailed phenotyping of body composition, physical function, physical activity, sleep and metabolic health to be able to answer various research questions and compare across cohorts from other countries, such as UK Biobank.