Gender and diabetes mellitus do not influence the outcomes of patients with proximal humeral fractures treated with a reverse shoulder arthroplasty.

Background and objective: Some studies have described that gender and the diabetes mellitus may impact the outcomes of reverse shoulder arthroplasty (RSA). The objective of this study was to compare the functional outcomes and survival of RSA based on the patient's gender and the presence or absence of diabetes mellitus as independent variables.

Materials and methods: This retrospective study included all patients who underwent RSA for acute proximal humeral fracture with a minimum follow-up of 2 years. Two independent stratifications were conducted to assess the influence of female gender and diabetes on RSA outcomes. The primary outcome variable was the Constant score. Additionally, the quickDASH and UCLA functional scales were evaluated, as well as estimated survival using the Kaplan-Meier method.

Results: The final sample comprised 131 patients. The final Constant scores were 47.0 in women and 51.8 in men (p=0.198), and 48.4 in diabetics and 45.3 in non-diabetics (p=0.347). There were also no significant differences in the secondary functional scales. The estimated 12-year survival rate was 94.4% in women and 94.7% in men (p=0.543); and 80.2% in diabetics and 97.8% in non-diabetics (p=0.141).

Conclusions: In acute proximal humeral fractures treated with RSA, neither female gender nor the presence of diabetes had an impact on functional outcomes at 2 years postoperative follow-up.

Level of evidence: III.