Double Trouble -- Arthritis & Diabetes
WebMD Guest BloggerCharles Helmick, MD, is a medical epidemioligist and scientific lead for the arthritis program at the CDC. His team implements the surveillance, epidemiology, and prevention strategies laid out in the CDC's National Arthritis Action Plan whose goal is to meet the ambitious Healthy People 2010 objectives for arthritis set down by the agency. Here is some advice from Dr. Helmick on how to stay active, even if you're battling both arthritis and diabetes.
A Plan of Action
Lots of research focuses on a single medical condition, but many people have more than one ailment. So a logical question is -- how do these conditions affect one another?
For instance, a study that my CDC colleagues and I undertook shows that having arthritis in addition to diabetes greatly decreases physical activity levels. And, arthritis is very common among people with diabetes.
People with both diabetes and arthritis face special barriers to being physically active, such as worry about aggravating or causing further joint damage, and uncertainty about which activities are safe.
How can people with both conditions get the physical activity they need?
Most can engage in joint-friendly activities, such as walking, swimming, and biking. In many communities, arthritis-specific group exercise programs are available that may help people with both conditions better manage their disease. For more information on group programs, visit The Arthritis Foundation, the CDC's arthritis web site, or WebMD's Arthritis Health Center.
Charles G. (Chad) Helmick, MD
Captain, U.S. Public Health Service
Medical Epidemiologist, Arthritis Program
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
6 Comments:
Fascinating! Good research, Dr. Helmick.
Did the study distinguish between Type I and Type II?
I will pass this along to my 92-year old Dad who is borderline diabetic to encourage him to maintain a program of walking and exercise.
This blog and the associated WebMD article seems to relate mostly to Type 2 diabetics, as anonymous #2 hinted. Type 1 is not a disease of inactivity but rather an autoimmune disease, as I understand it. So is arthritis -- ergo, those with wonky immune systems get Type 1, get arthritis, get vitiligo (white skin patches due to loss of skin pigment), and other diseases statistically linked with diabetes. As a Type 1, arthritis hit me in my early 20's when I was quite active. Now at 48, my left hip is so bad that walking mere minutes is agony. So yeah, I am guilty of getting too little exercise now, which means both will get worse, but I'll be damned if I can figure out how to keep moving without scaring the good people in the mall with my howls of pain. Anyway, a little broader exploration of the phenomenon would be good.
Seeking Dr. Helmich:
Hi, I'm Seth Ginsberg, of CreakyJoints (http://www.creakyjoints.org)
I'd like to reach out to you to discuss your latest research in a podcast interview for our website and our subscribers.
Please contact me sginsberg at creakyjoints.org to set up a time to chat. Looking forward to it.
Take good care!
Seth
Dr. Helmick responds:
To Anonymous 5/10/08 9:01pm:
Thank you, my twin daughters will be pleased to hear of such kudos.
To Anonymous 5/12/08 9:01 PM
Did the study distinguish between Type I and Type II?
No, it simply looked at self-reported diabetes in the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey. That question does not distinguish between Type I and Type II diabetes.
To Anonymous 5/20/08 11:17 AM
I will pass this along to my 92-year old Dad who is borderline diabetic to encourage him to maintain a program of walking and exercise.
Wonderful! Walking is a good general health promotion measure that can prevent or reduce the impact of many conditions.
becca:
This blog and the associated WebMD article seems to relate mostly to Type 2 diabetics, as anonymous #2 hinted. Type 1 is not a disease of inactivity but rather an autoimmune disease, as I understand it. So is arthritis -- ergo, those with wonky immune systems get Type 1, get arthritis, get vitiligo (white skin patches due to loss of skin pigment), and other diseases statistically linked with diabetes. As a Type 1, arthritis hit me in my early 20's when I was quite active. Now at 48, my left hip is so bad that walking mere minutes is agony. So yeah, I am guilty of getting too little exercise now, which means both will get worse, but I'll be damned if I can figure out how to keep moving without scaring the good people in the mall with my howls of pain. Anyway, a little broader exploration of the phenomenon would be good.
To be clear, this article was not about how the types of diabetes might be causally related to arthritis. Instead, it was about an intervention--physical activity--that is recommended for all people with diabetes regardless of the type of diabetes, and how that intervention might be compromised if the arthritis present in more than half of that population is not addressed.
I'm sorry to hear about your problems, becca, but your arthritis in your early 20s is not necessarily surprising--we found high rates of arthritis among persons with diabetes at ALL ages. Others have encountered your same problem of pain with walking, and many find that water exercise takes the weight off the joint and allows a good workout that leaves them feeling much better. Consider that, and also feel free to learn about other arthritis interventions at our CDC website (http://www.cdc.gov/arthritis/intervention/index.htm ). The Arthritis Foundation's Web site (www.arthritis.org) allows a search for programs such as water exercise by zip code, which you may find useful. Good luck!
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