Rheumatological manifestations of diabetes mellitus - a review

The aim of this paper is to review literature on rheumatological manifestations of diabetes mellitus. An English language literature search using Medline and PubMed (1968 January to December 2003) was done to assess research / review articles on rheumatological manifestations of diabetes mellitus A variety of rheumatological conditions are strongly associated with diabetes mellitus including limited joint mobility, specific arthropathies of the hand (carpal tunnel syndrome, Dupytrens contracture, flexor tenosynovitis and diabetic sclerodactyly), shoulder (adhesive capsulitis-frozen shoulder, and calcific periarthritis) and spontaneous infarction of skeletal muscle. On the other hand, there are some conditions that are weakly associated with diabetes mellitus including osteoarthritis and chondrocalcinosis. The likely pathogenetic mechanisms, diagnosis and the management of these conditions are discussed. Poorly controlled and untreated diabetes mellitus of a long duration may be associated with some rheumatological conditions. The presence of these rheumatological conditions should prompt clinicians in screening the individual for diabetes mellitus.Keywords: diabetes mellitus, musclo-skeletal Nigerian Medical Practitioner Vol. 48(3) 2005: 77-8