The prevalence of diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis in patients with diabetes mellitus.

OBJECTIVE: The relation of diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) and diabetes mellitus (DM) has been frequently reported. However, there is little knowledge about its prevalence in DM. The purpose of this study was to determine that prevalence and whether it differs from that of controls. METHODS: The prevalence of DISH was investigated in 133 patients with DM and 133 nondiabetic controls matched for sex, age, and weight. Radiologic criteria were used for diagnosis. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate, fasting blood glucose levels, glycolized hemoglobin, triglyceride, very low-density lipoprotein, low-density lipoprotein, high-density lipoprotein, calcium, uric acid, alkaline phosphatase, phosphorus, insulin, and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF1) levels of both groups were compared. RESULTS: The prevalence of DISH (12%) was higher in patients with DM than the control group (6.8%), but there was no statistically significant difference. The average age of the patients diagnosed with DISH (63.36 +/- 9.27) was significantly higher than that of the others (54.21 +/- 12.12) (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference between the DISH patients and the others in other parameters examined. CONCLUSION: We found no statistically significant difference in the prevalence of DISH between patients with DM and controls. We suggest that the factors thought to be responsible for the etiopathogenesis of DISH such as DM, insulin, and insulin-like growth factor-1 be investigated further.