Limited Joint Mobility of Diabetes May Be Early Sign of Scleroderma

Juvenile SSc diagnosed in boy with type 1 diabetes and telltale hand issues.
by Andrea Lobo, PhD | October 4, 2022

The case of a 14-year-old boy with diabetes provided a starting point for a finding of juvenile systemic sclerosis (SSc): the limited joint mobility evident in the boy’s fingers can be an initial sign of underlying SSc, the report’s researchers suggested.
​
Although “the coexistence of diabetes with juvenile systemic sclerosis is rarely described … the association between [the two conditions] may be more than a coincidence, and could suggest a relationship between glucose metabolism, fibrosis and microangiopathy [small blood vessel disease],” the scientists, in Italy and Canada, wrote.

The case report “Juvenile diabetes and systemic sclerosis: just a coincidence?” was published in the journal Pediatric Rheumatology.

The prevalence of limited joint mobility in adults with diabetes is estimated to range from 8% to 58% and to be around 7% in children with type 1 diabetes. About one-third of these children, especially those with moderate to severe diabetes, develop diabetic sclerodactyly, or a hardening of the skin on the hand that causes fingers to curl inward. This feature is also associated with limited joint mobility.
​
Diabetes at age 4, Raynaud’s phenomenon at age 12
The boy was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when he was 4 years old and treated “without complication.” At age 12,  Continue reading here.