Introduction: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a persistent metabolic condition frequently associated with musculoskeletal (MSK) complications such as diabetic cheiroarthropathy, frozen shoulder, osteoarthritis, and neuropathic arthropathy. These complications can cause significant morbidity and significantly impact quality of life. The study was conducted to determine the prevalence of MSK complications among individuals with DM and to assess their association with disease duration, glycemic control, and microvascular complications (retinopathy and albuminuria). Methods: A total of 240 patients with diabetes aged 18–60 years were enrolled from both outpatient and inpatient departments from a tertiary care referral center. Clinical, laboratory, and radiological assessments were conducted to evaluate MSK complications. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 20. Results: The study found a high prevalence of diabetes-related complications, including microvascular complications such as diabetic neuropathy (35.4%), retinopathy (17.9%), and albuminuria (29.2%), as well as MSK manifestations such as limited joint mobility (18.8%), frozen shoulder (13.3%), and osteoporosis (14.2%). Significant correlation was observed between the duration of diabetes and MSK complications like frozen shoulder ( P = 0.024), Charcot joint ( P = 0.016), and osteoporosis ( P = 0.001). However, glycemic control (glycated hemoglobin levels) did not show a significant relationship with MSK complications. Additionally, albuminuria and diabetic retinopathy were also associated with various MSK disorders, including carpal tunnel syndrome (odds ratio OR 1.23), frozen shoulder (OR 1.55), and diabetic muscle infarction (OR 5.09). Conclusion: MSK complications are frequent in diabetes, especially with longer disease duration and microvascular involvement. Early recognition and management are essential to reduce disability.
Kumar et al. (Thu,) studied this question.