More than half of US diabetics have arthritis

The study found that 52 percent of diabetics said they also had arthritis. The conditions and the overlap were most common in Americans 65 and older.

The analysis was based on telephone surveys in the years 2005 and 2007 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Researchers relied on what people said about their health, and did not verify diagnoses.

The researchers also asked about exercise and physical activity. People with both diabetes and arthritis were 30 to 40 percent more likely to be physically inactive than those who had diabetes alone.

"If we're ever going to successfully control a disease like diabetes, we're going to have to pay a lot of attention to arthritis," Klippel said.

Exercise that put less stress on joints, such as walking, biking and aquatics, are recommended for people with arthritis, said Dr. Chad Helmick, a CDC epidemiologist who co-authored the study.

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