Researchers looked at survey data from US adults aged 18 and older in 2018. They compared how many people reported having a disability between two groups: those who said they had ever been diagnosed with diabetes and those who said they had not. The survey found that adults with a reported diabetes diagnosis were more likely to also report having a disability than adults without a diabetes diagnosis.
This was an observational study, meaning it simply recorded what people reported at one point in time. The data came from people's own reports of their diagnoses and disabilities, which were not verified by medical records. The study did not report on any specific safety concerns related to having both conditions.
The main reason to be careful with this finding is that the study design cannot show cause and effect. It tells us these two things—a diabetes diagnosis and a disability—were reported together more often in 2018, but it does not tell us if one led to the other, or if other factors are involved. The results are specific to the US adult population in that year.
Readers should take from this that managing health can be complex, and different conditions often overlap. This survey highlights a connection worth further study, but it is a descriptive starting point, not a definitive conclusion about why the link exists.