Periarthritis of the shoulder and diabetes mellitus.

Periarthritis of the shoulder (frozen shoulder) is a well-defined condition with its phases of severe pain, increasing stiffness, and the gradual recovery of full movement of the shoulder; these features usually occur over a number of months. The aetiology of this condition, however, is not clearly understood. Amongst the factors suggested are trauma (Charnley, 1959), myocardial infarction (Minter, 1967), hemiplegia (Perzczyuski and Rardin, 1965), pulmonary tuberculosis (Johnson, 1959; Crossen and Hiltz, 1965), thyrotoxicosis (Oldham, 1959; Solal, 1965), cerebral tumour, and epilepsy (Thompson, 1961). In this paper, an association of periarthritis of the shoulder with diabetes mellitus is described. The incidence of this condition in diabetic patients is compared with that in nondiabetic medical patients seen during the same period of time.