Non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) and patterns of osteoarthritis - The Ulm osteoarthritis study

Objectives: Despite recent advances regarding the role of diabetes with res pect to cartilage metabolism epidemiologic data to quantify the role of dia betes in the development of osteoarthritis (OA) are sparse. Methods: OA patterns were studied in 809 patients with knee or hip joins re placement due to OA. NIDDM was defined by a history of physician diagnosed diabetes or use of antihyperglycemics. Results: Patients with NIDDM had more often bilateral OA (adjusted odds rat io (OR) = 2.2; 95%; confidence interval (CI): 0.8-6.4). No association betw een NIDDM and generalized OA (adjusted OR = 1.0: 95%CI: 0.5-1.9) was observ ed. Conclusions: Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that NIDDM migh t be a potentially important systemic risk factor for knee and hip OA, but chance cannot be ruled out as an alternative explanation.