Matching Body Composition Confirms Decreased Phase Angle among Diabetics Compared to Controls

Abstract

Background: Diabetes Mellitus refers to a group of common metabolic disorders that depicts hyperglycemia. As per WHO, the number of people with diabetes rose from 108 million in 1980 to 422 million in 2014. The global prevalence of diabetes among adults over 18 years of age rose from 4.7% in 1980 to 8.5% in 2014. Simple screening can help detect diabetes early and save lives. Many studies have found decreased phase angle among diabetics than controls but since age and BMI can be the confounders, there are few studies to match these parameters to draw the right conclusions. The objective of study was to do a matched comparison of the body composition (Body Fat%, Lean Body Mass and Total Body Water, Intracellular and Extracellular Water %) and biochemical investigations of Diabetics and Non-Diabetic Controls. Methods: The study population was taken from Indira G and hi Medical College, Shimla, which is one of the Tertiary care centers of Himachal Pradesh located in North India. All patients undergoing Body Composition measurements were diagnosed as diabetics on the basis of ADA (American Diabetic Association) diagnostic criteria. 60 diabetic patients fulfilling the inclusion criteria and 60 healthy age and sex-matched controls were enrolled in this study. Results: Matched analysis was done and it was found that the Phase angle among diabetics was lower (5.6° + 0.9°) than controls (6.3° + 1.1°) and was statistically significant, p-value <0.005. A comparison of biochemical investigations shows that there was a statistically significant difference between diabetics and controls with respect to FBS, HbA1C, Cholesterol, VLDL and HDL. Conclusion: Diabetics and controls were age, Sex and BMI matched with moderate physical activity. Waist Circumference (WC) was higher in diabetics indicating central obesity. The diabetics were found to be hypertensive with poor blood sugar control and dyslipidemia. The Phase Angle was decreased in diabetics than in controls, showing the prognosis of the disease.