Increased urinary excretion of glycosaminoglycans in insulin-dependent diabetic patients with limited joint mobility.

Urinary excretion of glycosaminoglycans (GAG) was measured in 24-h specimens collected from 27 insulin-dependent male diabetic patients and 22 healthy males of similar ages. Excretion relative to creatinine was increased by 35% in the diabetic group as a whole (p less than 0.02). Twelve patients with limited joint mobility (cheiroarthropathy) formed a subgroup with high excretion (69% above controls), those without limited joint mobility being similar to controls. There was no correlation of retinopathy with GAG excretion.