CORRELATION ANALYSIS OF DURATION OF DIABETES WITH UPPER LIMB MUSCULOSKELETAL PROBLEMS

Introduction: Diabetes mellitus (DM) has been emerging as a major healthcare problem in Pakistan with 7.0 million people suffering from it and the number of diabetic patients is estimated to rise to a staggering figure of 14.4 million by the year 2040 making Pakistan the 8^th highest country in the world in terms of burden of diabetic patient. Aims and Objectives: The main objective of the study is to find the correlation analysis of duration of diabetes with upper limb musculoskeletal problems.

Methodology of the study: The study was conducted at Punjab Health Department during July 2020 to January 2021. The data was collected from 100 diabetic patients who was suffering from diabetes from last one year. After approval by the hospital ethical review committee, informed written consent was taken from the patients prior to inclusion in the study.

Results: The demographic values shows that there is a significant relation between diabetes and hyperlipidemia in a local population of Pakistan. Only 86 patients had symptoms. Hand symptoms were significantly associated with the duration of diabetes mellitus (p=0.0001). Among hand symptoms significant association was found between carpal tunnel syndrome (p=0.0001) and limited joint mobility (p= 0.053).

Conclusion: The development of hand symptoms seems to have association with duration of diabetes mellitus. These symptoms need to be actively asked for as patients may not render this information.