Normal Weight Diabetes Patients Have A Higher Mortality Risk

In most cases, excess weight is never a good thing. Yet recent findings found that in a rare health twist, older adults with type 2 diabetes who have normal to average body mass indexes (BMI) are at an increased risk of mortality over heavier individuals with the same health problem.

For the study, researchers analyzed data from the AGES-Reykjavik cohort of participants between ages 66 to 96 with type 2 diabetes. Findings revealed that mortality risk was actually higher among normal weight individuals with type 2 diabetes. Furthermore, findings showed that thigh muscle size meditated 46 percent in the relationship between normal weight and mortality risk.

"In conclusion, the results illustrate the importance of identifying type 2 diabetes among normal-weight individuals and suggest that muscle size may help to explain relationships between BMI and mortality in type 2 diabetes," the authors noted, in a news release. 

More information regarding the findings can be seen via the journal Diabetes Care.