Prevalence of musculoskeletal complications of type-2 diabetes mellitus in population of southern Punjab, Pakistan

Diabetes mellitus is a major public health issue globally, and type-2 diabetes mellitus is the most prevalent form of this disease. Due to multiple factors, most diabetic patients develop functional disabilities including musculoskeletal complications. To determine the frequency of musculoskeletal complications, the relationship between these complications and different potential variables, and the status of pharmacotherapy management to treat these complications among patients with type-2 diabetes mellitus. It was a cross-sectional study and data was collected through self-administered, face-validated pro forma in the English language in outpatient clinics of two tertiary care hospitals of Multan, Pakistan. Total n = 270 type-2 diabetic patients of both genders were assessed for musculoskeletal complications; n = 126 (46.7%) patients had at least one musculoskeletal complication. The most common manifestations were shoulder capsulitis or frozen shoulder (20.7%), flexor tenosynovitis (10.4%), hand stiffness syndrome (10%), and limited joint mobility (9.6%). A statistically significant association was found between frozen shoulder, limited joint mobility, and hand stiffness syndrome with the duration of diabetes (p value = 0.003, 0.0001), and overall glycemic control (p value = 0.004, 0.001) respectively. Out of 254 complaints, only 42.9% of complaints were receiving pharmacotherapy management. Main outcome measure: overall prevalence of musculoskeletal complications among patients of type-2 diabetes and level of pharmacotherapy management for them. Periarticular region of the joints in the hands and shoulders should be examined whenever diabetic patients present with uncontrolled diabetes, and pharmacotherapy management should be planned for these patients who will improve their quality of life.