[Systemic rheumatic diseases and diabetes mellitus].

In a two-year retrospective study the incidence of diabetes was investigated in 481 patients with systemic rheumatic disease. The control group was formed by 120 patients with degenerative articular disease of the lower extremities. The authors found a significantly higher incidence of diabetes mellitus in both groups, as compared with the population of the Czech Socialist Republic, whereby in patients with systemic rheumatic disease probably the relatively frequent administration of glucocorticoids plays a part. The remarkably high incidence of insulin-dependent diabetes in 16% of patients with polymyositis might suggest a possible co-existence of these two autoimmune diseases.