The association between frozen shoulder and Dupuytren's disease.

Abstract

Fifty-eight patients with the diagnosis of primary frozen shoulder were independently examined by 3 surgeons for evidence of Dupuytren's disease. The disease was found in 52% (30/58) of the patients reviewed. These figures were compared with previously reported figures for a population of similar age. This showed that Dupuytren's disease is 8.27 (95% CI, 6.25-11.2) times more common in patients with frozen shoulder than in the general population; the difference between the two was highly statistically significant (P < .001, chi(2) test). We discuss the literature on the association between frozen shoulder and Dupuytren's disease and the implications of such a high proportion of patients sharing these two conditions.