New risk factors for musculoskeletal diseases are named

Prolonged hyperglycemia was recognized as a risk factor for musculoskeletal diseases: frozen shoulder syndrome, Dupuytren's disease, snapping finger and carpal tunnel syndrome. Meanwhile, a higher body mass index acted as a protective factor for Dupuytren's contracture.

Researchers from the University of Exeter evaluated the impact of hyperglycemia and obesity on the risk of developing musculoskeletal diseases. The results of the study were published in the International Journal of Epidemiology.

The analysis showed that a long-term increase in the level of glycated hemoglobin by 3.1% significantly increased the risk of musculoskeletal diseases. The probability of frozen shoulder syndrome increased 1.5-fold, and the risk of Dupuytren's disease increased 1.17-fold. The risks of snapping finger syndrome and carpal tunnel syndrome increased by 30 and 20%, respectively.

A 1.3-fold increase in body mass index by 5 kg/m2 increased the risk of carpal tunnel syndrome, but had no effect on the likelihood of frozen shoulder and snapping finger syndrome. As for Dupuytren's contracture, obesity had a protective effect: patients with a high body mass index had a 6% lower risk of developing this pathology.

They analyzed data from 379,708 participants in whom they measured the level of glycated hemoglobin, the ratio of waist and hips and calculated BMI. A genetically predicted hemoglobin level and BMI were determined for each participant.

The authors concluded that four musculoskeletal diseases that are common in people with diabetes are caused by elevated blood glucose levels. Therefore, patients with diabetes mellitus need glycemic control.