Diabetes is linked to the development of disability, researchers reported here this week at the meeting of the American Neurological Association.

“Diabetes is common and becoming more common and it’s important to recognize that the disease does affect motor function and leads to disability,” Dr. Zoe Arvanitakis of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago told AMN Health.

As part of The Religious Orders Study, 922 older Catholic nuns, priests, and brothers underwent detailed medical exams yearly for up to 10 years. Diabetes was present in a total of 144 subjects at the start of the study.

After taking into account factors such as age, gender, and education, “diabetes was associated with worsening manual dexterity and lower limb function,” Arvanitakis said.

“Persons with diabetes started at a lower level of motor function and also declined at a faster rate compared to persons without diabetes,” she said. Twenty-seven percent of diabetics became dependent in at least one activity of daily living during follow up.

Arvanitakis said the risk of disability occurring was 47 percent greater in diabetics than in non-diabetics.

Earlier this month, the researcher reported study results indicating that diabetes accelerates the progression of rigidity and gait disturbances in older persons. These studies, Arvanitakis said, “reinforce that we need to identify diabetes early and treat it early to try to prevent disability.”