Prevalence of Musculoskeletal Disorders in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Abstract

Type II diabetes is characterized by decreased insulin secretion or insulin resistance in the body. It is the most commonly occurring type that affects obese persons or who have family history of diabetes. Several musculoskeletal disorders are associated with type 2 diabetes. This study was intended to check the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders in type 2 diabetes mellitus. For this purpose, a descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in the general population of Abbottabad. A total of 250 subjects of age group 30-90 years.  Participants were asked to fill a self-administered questionnaire containing demographics and other questions which included levels of hyperglycemia, pain and its common site, muscle cramps and abnormal sensations. Other questions were about difficulty in getting in and out of chair, opening medicine bottle or jar, bending or kneeling, walking and problems with dressing, eating, bathing or other personal care. All these questions were answered on a 5 points scale. The study employed convenient sampling technique and data was further analyzed using SPSS version 20. According to the results; all patients experienced pain. 24% had no difficulty getting in and out of chair and 4.4% were unable to do. 42.8% participants had no difficulty in opening bottle or jar while 1.6% are unable to do. 13.2% participants had no difficulty in bending or kneeling and 8.4% patients were unable to bend or kneel. 44.8% participants had no difficulty in walking, only 1.6% patients were unable to walk. 19.6% participants were not at all bothered by back problem and 5.6% were extremely bothered by back problem. 45.2% participants were not at all bothered by problems with dressing, eating, bathing or other personal care and 1.2% were extremely bothered. 32.4% were not at all bothered by pain and stiffness and only 2% were extremely bothered. Thus, it was concluded that MSK disorders among diabetics result in pain and disability. Most of the patients were suffering from low back pain and were unable to bend or kneel.