"Lead investigator Dr. Seok Won Park told Reuters Health that elderly adults with diabetes lose leg muscle strength about 50 percent faster than their peers without diabetes, which may explain the two-fold higher risk of physical disability in diabetics."

"To investigate the changes in muscle mass and strength in community-dwelling older adults with or without type 2 diabetes, Park of Bundang CHA University, Sungnam, and colleagues studied data for 1,840 subjects between 70 and 79 years old. Of this group, 305 had type 2 diabetes."

"Leg and arm muscle mass and strength were measured at study entry and 3 years later. The diabetic group showed statistically significant greater declines in leg muscle mass than did the subjects without diabetes. Leg muscle strength and maximum leg muscle strength per unit of muscle mass also declined more in the diabetics."

"Park and colleagues also noted however that the approximate "50 percent more
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