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Association between diabetes and some rheumatic diseases have been proposed. The aim of our work is the evaluation of the prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) in a population of patients affected by some common rheumatic disease. We evaluated 356 consecutive out-patients [205 (71.66%) women and 101 (28.34%) men] attending the Rheumatology Unit of the Dept. of Internal Medicine of the Catholic University of Rome. The control group consisted of 200 out-patients, age and sex matched, who were examined in the Dept. of Surgery. The diagnosis of rheumatic patients were osteoarthritis (OA) (45.5%), rheumatoid arthritis (RA) (34%) and periarthritis (PA) (20.5%). The prevalence of diabetes mellitus in our rheumatic population was 5.78% in RA, 6.17% in OA, 10.9% in PA. The prevalence of DM in the control group was 4%. Our data suggest that the prevalence of DM in OA and RA patients is similar to that of general population, while it is significantly higher in PA patients probably for an active role of microangiopathy and hyperglycemia in the genesis of such disease.

It is becoming more apparent that the common gastritis and ulcer complications associated with non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID's) are distinct from classic peptic ulcer disease. To assess the incidence of gastrointestinal lesions and the existence of correlation with gastrointestinal symptoms, patients affected by rheumatic diseases treated with NSAIDs were carefully questioned to evaluate gastrointestinal symptoms and then underwent an esophagogastroduodenoscopic examination. The study demonstrates a relevant absence of gastrointestinal symptoms with an high incidence of gastric mucosal lesions in this patients. Asymptomatic lesions seem to be a characteristic feature of NSAID gastropathy. The blockade of synthesis of prostaglandins, due to the inhibition of cyclooxygenase by NSAIDs, may create an environment conducive to gastritis or ulcer disease and may be responsible of the absence of gastrointestinal symptoms.