Abstract
Limited joint mobility (LJM) and Dupuytren's contracture are cutaneous collagen disorders which occur in diabetic patients. 168 cases of NIDDM, with and without cutaneous collagen disorders, were investigated concerning the prevalence and severity of microvascular complications and their relationship to serum type IV collagen levels. Thirty of the patients (17.9%) had LJM and 26 (15.5%) had Dupuytren's contracture. HbA1c was significantly higher in the patients with LJM than in the patients without LJM (p<0.05). No significant differences were found between the patients with and without LJM in regard to age and duration of diabetes. There were significant differences in age, duration of diabetes and HbA1c between the patients with Dupuythen's contracture and without. The prevalence of proliferative retinopathy was 61.5% in the patients with Dupuytren's contracture, and much higher than in the patients without collagen disorders (20.7%). Serum type IV collagen 7S levels were significantly higher in the patients with Dupuytren's contracture (5.77±0.93ng/ml) than in the patients with neither LJM or Dupuytren's contracture (4.89±0.64ng/ml)(p<0.01). There were no significant differences between the patients with LJM and without LJM. No significant differences were found according to the severity of LJM or Dupuytren's contracture. These findings suggest that the Dupuytren's contracture in diabetic patients may be associated with a metabolic disorder of type IV collagen, and its development may be closely associated with diabetic microangiopathy.
