"The prevalence of arthritis is astoundingly high in people with diabetes," said Dr. John H. Klippel, president and CEO of the Arthritis Foundation. "Over half the people with diabetes have arthritis."
Although there appears to be a connection between arthritis and diabetes, the reason for it isn't known, Klippel said. A possible explanation is obesity, which is a risk factor for both osteoarthritis and diabetes, he speculated.
Maybe the REAL reason is that most people with diabetes are over 40 years old and would have arthritis anyway! The overall population is getting older, the "Baby Boomers" are getting older, and, the average age in this country is going up because we are all living longer! Check out these statistics that prove me right.
According to information from Steven Reinberg of HealthDayNews: "With two-thirds of U.S. adults overweight or obese, the number of people with type 2 diabetes continues to rise while their ages at the time of diagnosis drops, a new study finds. In the late 1980s and early '90s, the average age of an adult diagnosed with type 2 diabetes was 52, but now people are being diagnosed in their middle 40s. " And, according to a graph from the National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse (NDIC), in 2005 there were 1.5 million people over the age of 20 diagnosed with diabetes." But, almost all, 1.3 million people, were over the age of 40! Now, 3 years later, the number of Type 2 is increasing dramatically. There are many more type 2 adult diabetics in the diabetes population than Type 1 insulin dependent diabetes.
According to Arthritis Pain Self Help, there are 16 million sufferers of various forms of arthritis in the US, 8 million in the UK and 3 million in Australia, with an average age of 45, that are using arthritis drugs and pain relievers.
So, I have to conclude that it is purely coincidental that most diabetics have arthritis. I would love to see what the average age was of the people in the Arthritis-Diabetes Study. I bet they were over 40. It would be interesting to find out.
During a CBS 60 Minutes® report entitled The Science of Sleep, research endocrinologist Dr. Eve Van Cauter of the University of Chicago Medical Center said, "
Ahhh. You come home late after a busy and aggravating day at work, you throw your coat on the chair (or floor), and sit down to dinner. But first, a sip of that new Merlot that you purchased last week. All of a sudden, you feel better, and can deal with the balance of your day. .jpg)
