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Body composition and development of diabetes: a 15-year follow-up study in a Japanese population

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 72, pages 374–380 (2018)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Background/objectives

Few longitudinal studies have examined the association between diabetes risk and body composition in Asians. The aim of this prospective cohort study was to determine the role of body composition, estimated by whole-body dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, in the development of diabetes and to examine the impact of body composition on diabetes risk in normal weight (body mass index (BMI) <23 kg/m2) and overweight/obese groups (≥23 kg/m2).

Subjects/methods

We measured the body composition for 1532 diabetes-free subjects (463 men and 1069 women), aged 48–79 years, at the baseline examination period from 1994–96 and followed-up to detect new cases of diabetes over the next 15 years (median 13.4 years).

Results

After being adjusted for BMI and other potential confounding factors, body fat distribution was associated with diabetes risk. Percentage of trunk fat was positively associated with the development of diabetes (hazards ratio (HR) per 1 SD (95% confidential interval (CI)), 1.58 (1.10–2.28) in men, and 1.34 (0.99–1.83) in women), and percentage of leg fat was negatively associated with the development of diabetes (HR per 1 SD (95% CI), 0.68 (0.50–0.91) in men and 0.68 (0.55–0.85) in women). The estimated HRs of % trunk and leg fat on the development of diabetes differed little between normal weight and overweight/obese subjects. Appendicular lean mass was also negatively associated with diabetes risk only in normal weight men.

Conclusions

Opposite associations of trunk fat and leg fat with diabetes risk were observed. Assessment of body composition might help in the evaluation of diabetes risk.

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Acknowledgements

The RERF, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan is a public interest foundation funded by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) and the US Department of Energy (DOE). The views of the authors do not necessarily reflect those of the two governments. This publication was supported by RERF Research Protocols RP # 3-89 and # 7-10. This study was also supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) KAKENHI (25860458), and a grant-in-aid from the MHLW of Japan (Comprehensive Research on Cardiovascular and Life-Style Related Diseases: H29-Junkankitou [Seishuu]-Ippan-003). Miriam Bloom (SciWrite Biomedical Writing and Editing Services) provided professional English-language editing.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical Studies, Radiation Effects Research Foundation, Hiroshima, Japan

    Yoshimi Tatsukawa, Michiko Yamada & Waka Ohishi

  2. Department of Statistics, Radiation Effects Research Foundation, Hiroshima, Japan

    Munechika Misumi & Young Min Kim

  3. Department of Statistics, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Korea

    Young Min Kim

  4. Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Casualty Council, Hiroshima, Japan

    Saeko Fujiwara

  5. Division of Diabetes, Metabolism and Endocrinology, Kawasaki Medical School, Kurashiki, Japan

    Shuhei Nakanishi

  6. Department of Molecular and Internal Medicine, Institute of Biomedical & Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan

    Masayasu Yoneda

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  1. Yoshimi Tatsukawa
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Correspondence to Yoshimi Tatsukawa.

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Tatsukawa, Y., Misumi, M., Kim, Y.M. et al. Body composition and development of diabetes: a 15-year follow-up study in a Japanese population. Eur J Clin Nutr 72, 374–380 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41430-017-0077-7

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