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
References