According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) more that half of adults with diabetes also have arthritis. This creates an additional barrier for diabetics who need to get exercise in order to improve both conditions.

The CDC surveyed nearly 800,000 people to analyze the relationship between the 2 diseases. They found that 52% of diabetics also said they had arthritis. And older diabetics, over age 65, were more likely to have arthritis.

The CDC report states that nearly 30 percent of diabetics with arthritis are not likely to be physically active, compared with 21 percent of diabetics who do not have arthritis.

Among adults with arthritis alone 17.3 percent are inactive, and 10.9 percent of adults who have neither condition are inactive.

In total the CDC says that 20.6 million adults have diabetes and 46.4 million have arthritis.

“For people with diabetes, physical activity helps control blood glucose and risk factors for complications. For people with arthritis, physical activity reduces pain and improves function,” said Janet Collins, director of the CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.

The data was gathered for report from a random telephone survey in 2005 and 2007. Respondents were asked if they had ever been diagnosed with arthritis or diabetes.

The report does not indicate which type of arthritis people had – rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis or another form. Nor does it say what type of diabetes they had.