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Clinical Summary

Is diabetes mellitus independently linked to osteoarthritis?

Takeaway

  • This meta-analysis suggests that diabetes mellitus (DM) is not an independent risk factor for osteoarthritis (OA), when body mass index is accounted for.
  • Findings were consistent irrespective of gender and site of OA.

Why this matters

  • The association between DM and OA from existing studies have shown conflicting results.
  • Future research should account for the effects of BMI as it is a major confounding factor for OA risk.

Study design

  • Meta-analysis included 31 studies (n=295,100) after a search across PubMed and Web of Science databases.
  • Funding: None disclosed.

Key results

  • In model 1, the risk for DM was higher in patients with OA compared with those without (OR, 1.56; 95% CI, 1.28-1.89; I2=94.2%).
  • In model 2, patients with DM vs those without were not at an increased risk for OA (OR, 1.14; 95% CI, 0.98-1.33; I2=74.2%) irrespective of gender and OA sites.
  • In the subgroup analysis by design, patients with DM vs those without were at the risk for OA in cross-sectional studies (OR, 1.29; 95% CI, 1.10-1.51), but not in case-control (OR, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.49-1.38; I2=85.7%) and prospective cohort (OR, 1.08; 95% CI, 0.80-1.44; I2=76.0%) studies.

Limitations

  • Heterogeneity among studies.
  • Majority of the studies were retrospective cross-sectional and case-control.

References


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