Prevalence and Prevention of Rheumatologic Manifestations and their Relationship with Blood Glucose Control in Patients with Type II Diabetes

Abstract

Background: Musculoskeletal disorders in diabetic patients are associated with pain and disability, and thus, a significant reduction in quality of life. The current study was conducted with the aim of evaluating the frequency and prevention of rheumatologic manifestations and their association with blood glucose levels in diabetic patients. Methods: In this cross‑sectional study, a total of 273 patients with type II diabetes, referred to the diabetes clinic, were selected by using the census method. Using a checklist, demographic, and clinical data, including duration of diabetes, blood glucose level, HbA1c, type of diabetes, BMI, history of smoking, blood pressure, serum cholesterol level, triglyceride, HDL, LDL, and musculoskeletal disorder type were analyzed using SPSS20 software application using independent t‑test. Modeling was performed to obtain the best fit using logistic regression. The significance level was considered less than 0.05. Results: 62.6% of patients had at least one of the rheumatologic complications. The most common complication was related to carpal tunnel syndrome (26.4%), followed by muscle contraction (23.8%). By moderating the effects of other variables, the odds ratio for rheumatoid complications was obtained as 1.74 with one unit of increase in HbA1c, which was statistically significant. In examining the influential variables, high age, gender, smoking, and BMI showed statistically significant effects (). Conclusions: Given the high prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders in diabetic patients, early diagnosis and timely treatment of the complications are crucial. It is recommended that musculoskeletal examinations be included as an important part of regular care for these patients.