Half of diabetics in U.S. have arthritis, CDC says

CHICAGO (Reuters Life!) - People with diabetes are twice as likely to have arthritis, putting them in a double bind as the pain in their joints keeps them from getting the exercise they need to keep both diseases at bay, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday.

They found that more than half of U.S. adults diagnosed with diabetes also have arthritis. "The prevalence of arthritis in a diabetic population is astoundingly high," said Dr. John Klippel, president of the Arthritis Foundation in a telephone interview. "If in fact you have both conditions, you are quite unlikely to be physically active," he said.

According to the report, nearly 30 percent of diabetics with arthritis are likely to be physically inactive, compared with 21 percent of diabetics who do not have arthritis.

That compares with 17.3 percent of adults with arthritis alone who are inactive, and 10.9 percent of adults with neither condition who are inactive.

The CDC said the study suggests the pain of arthritis presents a barrier to physical activity - the very thing that might offer people some relief.

"For people with diabetes, physical activity helps control blood glucose and risk factors for complications. For people with arthritis, physical activity reduces pain and improves function," said Janet Collins, director of the CDC's National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.

Klippel thinks two things stand in the way.

"Because arthritis affects the joints and is associated with pain, people with arthritis, when they begin to exercise, experience more pain," he said. "The other thing is there is a common misconception that exercise is bad for arthritis and it will damage joints."

He said many forms of exercise are in fact "joint-safe," including walking, swimming and biking. "If people walked 30 minutes a day it would have a profound effect on reducing their pain and improving their symptoms," he said.

Given the scope of the problem, Klippel said the finding will likely affect the way doctors and policymakers go about encouraging their patients to exercise.