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In older adults with type 2 diabetes, muscle size may mediate the association between body mass index (BMI) and mortality, according to a new study. 

Researchers analyzed data from the AGES-Reykjavik cohort of participants, aged 66 to 96 years, with type 2 diabetes. They found that compared with overweight participants, there was no mortality risk for obese participants and an increased risk of mortality for normal-weight participants. 

More detailed analysis confirmed that thigh muscle size mediated 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 wrote in the press release. 

The study has been published in the journal Diabetes Care.