People with Type 2 Diabetes Have More Complications After Hip or Knee Replacement
Type 2 diabetes is present in about a quarter of people having hip or knee replacement. A February 2026 study published in the Journal of Orthopaedics compared outcomes up to five years after total hip or total knee replacement for those with and without diabetes using the TriNetX database. The study matched 97,404 people with type 2 diabetes with an equal number of people without diabetes. People with type 2 diabetes had increased odds of several poor outcomes including hospital readmission (at 90 days, two years and five years), infections (at 90 days), increased surgical repairs (at two and five years), and femur fracture repairs (at five years). The authors conclude that people with type 2 diabetes need close post-operative monitoring to minimize complications.
