الإصدار 7 - العدد 19 (2026-10-20)

Shoulder Disorders Among Symptomatic Adults with Diabetes: A Descriptive Study of Clinical and Patient Characteristics

Dr: Ammar Ahamed Ibrahium Dawood

Orthopedic consultant - Orthopedic department - Khafji General Hospital - Ministry of Health-Eastern Region-Saudi Arabia.

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is associated with a range of shoulder disorders, including rotator-cuff disease and adhesive capsulitis. However, the distribution of cuff and non-cuff shoulder abnormalities among symptomatic adults with DM has not been fully characterized. This study aimed to describe the frequency and patterns of shoulder disorders among adults with DM undergoing clinical and imaging evaluation for shoulder symptoms and to examine their demographic, metabolic, and clinical characteristics.

Methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted among 33 adults with DM who presented with shoulder pain and limited movement and underwent clinical and radiological evaluation. Data on age, gender, side involvement, dominant hand, DM status, duration of DM, HbA1c level, degree of shoulder stiffness, shoulder arthritis, and other clinical and demographic characteristics were collected. The prevalence of articular, complete, partial, and interstitial cuff tears, cuff tendinitis, calcific tendinitis, shoulder stiffness, frozen shoulder, long-head biceps tendinitis, and subacromial bursitis was analyzed, and exact 95% confidence intervals were calculated.

Results: Rotator-cuff diseases were diagnosed in almost all participants (97.0%, 95% CI 84.2–99.9). Rotator-cuff tendinopathy was diagnosed in 78.8% of participants, while any rotator-cuff tear was present in 57.6%. Frozen shoulder was diagnosed in 33.3% of participants. Participants with frozen shoulder were significantly older than those without frozen shoulder (P = 0.007). Shoulder stiffness was strongly associated with frozen shoulder (OR 10.0, 95% CI 1.09–92.0; P = 0.027). Biceps tendinitis was present exclusively among participants with arthritis (P = 0.032). Neither the duration of DM nor HbA1c was associated with partial rotator-cuff tears.

Conclusions: Most participants in this single-center retrospective study presented with rotator-cuff disease, while age and shoulder stiffness were the most relevant clinical characteristics associated with frozen shoulder. These findings provide a descriptive overview of shoulder disorders among symptomatic adults with DM. The results are preliminary and should be confirmed through prospective multicenter research.