Diabetes is tied to lower functional recovery in arthritis
In older adults with arthritis, coexisting diabetes was associated with a 19.9% probability of functional recovery compared with 23.3% for arthritis alone.
Research Square
In adults aged 65 years or older from the Health and Retirement Study, researchers evaluated how coexisting diabetes relates to functional recovery and disability in individuals with arthritis. The longitudinal study analyzed biennial survey data from 2000 to 2022, tracking 69,075 person-waves across 17,540 participants for disability onset and 23,725 person-waves across 10,066 participants for recovery.
Compared to arthritis alone, comorbidity was associated with a higher probability of incident disability (17.1% versus 15.8%). Recovery to complete independence was less likely among those with coexisting diabetes (19.9% versus 23.3%). Additionally, among participants who started with activities of daily living disability, functional improvement was less frequent with comorbidity (23.0% versus 27.7%), along with higher mortality.
Why it matters
The findings suggest that metabolic comorbidity may impede the ability to regain functional independence after physical limitation sets in. Focusing on recovery trajectories in addition to initial disability prevention could help inform clinical care for older adults with multiple chronic conditions.
Caveats
The analysis is observational and relies on biennial interview data, which precludes determining direct causal relationships. The study is a preprint and has not yet completed peer review.
The paper
The 95 Hospital of Putian
Research Square · 10 Sep 2026 · Preprint, not peer-reviewed