About one in four Indian adults with type 2 diabetes may have sarcopenia

The edition in brief

A meta-analysis of seven Indian cross-sectional studies (1,359 adults with type 2 diabetes) found a pooled confirmed sarcopenia prevalence of 27.4% (95% CI 18.9-37.9) by Asian Working Group criteria, with I-squared of 91.7% and a prediction interval from 6.9% to 65.6%. Estimates were lower by dual-energy absorptiometry (20.2%) than bioimpedance (31.7%). Severe sarcopenia was 11.0% and sarcopenic obesity 25.2%. Certainty was very low, and the authors state these are not a sufficient basis for a screening recommendation. A meta-analysis of nine randomised trials and 357 patients with dementia found transcranial alternating current stimulation improved immediate global cognition against sham (standardised mean difference 0.28, 95% CI 0.01-0.54) but not at follow-up. Immediate recall, delayed recall and associative memory improved; neuropsychiatric symptoms did not, and executive function was inconclusive. No serious adverse events occurred. Fourteen studies of prebiotic, probiotic or synbiotic supplementation in adults aged 60 and over produced a pooled global cognition improvement of 1.28 points (95% CI 0.15-2.40) in a subgroup meta-analysis, with substantial heterogeneity. In 584 community-dwelling older adults wearing wrist accelerometers for 72 hours, higher mean morning activity predicted lower five-year mortality (OR 0.64 per standard deviation) and higher day-to-day morning variability predicted better frailty scores among survivors (OR 0.67), after adjustment for baseline frailty and comorbidity. A rapid review of 12 studies of culturally adapted post-diagnostic dementia support for South Asian families found carer psychoeducation and psychosocial interventions feasible and valued, with little evidence for interventions supporting the person with dementia directly.