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Observational Study
. 2025 Apr 25:16:1536341.
doi: 10.3389/fendo.2025.1536341. eCollection 2025.

Effect of diabetes mellitus on physical function in patients with osteoarthritis: a cross-sectional observational study

Zhiqiang Que #  1 , Wenbin Xu #  2 , Keyi Xiao #  1   3 , Cunbin Chen  1   3 , Jianghao Shu  1 , Yuxuan Huang  4 , Dingqiang Chen  1   3 , Gang Rui  1   3
Affiliations
Observational Study

Effect of diabetes mellitus on physical function in patients with osteoarthritis: a cross-sectional observational study

Zhiqiang Que et al. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). .

Abstract

Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common chronic disease among the elderly, causing pain, functional limitations, and a decline in quality of life. Diabetes mellitus (DM), a prevalent metabolic disorder, has been proven to have an association with OA. However, the specific impact of DM on the physical function of OA patients remains lack of in-depth exploration. This study aims to investigate whether OA patients with DM (DMOA) experience more severe physical function limitations.

Method: The study utilized National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data from 1999-2018. Logistic regression models were used to analyze the association between DMOA and physical function limitations. Stratified analysis was applied to assess the stability of these results.

Results: DMOA patients exhibited significantly worse physical function compared to those OA patiants who do not complicated with DM (non-DMOA), especially in high-intensity and frequent joint use activities like walking long distances (OR = 1.870, 95%CI[1.243,2.814], P = 0.003), crouching (OR = 1.417, 95%CI[1.116, 1.799], P = 0.005), and standing for long periods (OR = 1.423,95%CI[1.141,1.774], P = 0.002). Even after adjusting for demographics, socioeconomic and health factors, the association between DMOA and physical function impairment remained significant.

Conclusion: This study revealed that the DMOA population has worse physical function than non-DMOA population, especially in high-intensity and frequent joint use activities. Managing DM in OA patients is crucial to improve their physical function and overall quality of life. The impact of DM should be considered in the selection of therapeutic agents and care for OA.

Keywords: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey; cross sectional study; diabetes mellitus; osteoarthritis; physical function.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The participants selection flow.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Stratified analysis between DMOA and physical function limitation.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Stratified analysis between DMOA and physical function limitation.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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