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Diabetes duration tied to diabetic peripheral neuropathy risk
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Diabetes duration of more than 10 years increases the risk for diabetic peripheral neuropathy in adolescents and young adults with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, according to findings published in Diabetes Care.
Eva L. Feldman, MD, PhD, professor of neurology at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and colleagues evaluated data from the SEARCH study on 1,734 young patients (mean age, 18 years) with type 1 diabetes (mean diabetes duration, 7.2 years; mean HbA1c, 9.1%) and 258 young patients (mean age, 22 years) with type 2 diabetes (mean diabetes duration, 7.9 years; mean HbA1c, 9.4%) to determine the prevalence of and risk factors for diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN).
DPN was assessed using the Michigan Neuropathy Screening Instrument, a 15-item self-administered questionnaire, and DPN was defined as an exam score greater than 2.
Overall, evidence of DPN was found in 7% of participants with type 1 diabetes and 22% with type 2 diabetes.
Among participants with type 1 diabetes, those with DPN were older (P < .0001), had a longer duration of diabetes (P < .0001), and higher diastolic blood pressure (P = .02) and LDL cholesterol (P = .01), and lower HDL cholesterol levels compared with those without DPN.
Among participants with type 2 diabetes, those with diabetic neuropathy were older (P = .01), had longer duration of diabetes (P = .002) and lower HDL cholesterol levels (P = .04) compared with those without diabetic neuropathy.
Among participants with type 1 diabetes, those with DPN had greater area under the curves for HbA1c, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, systolic BP and diastolic BP and lower HDL cholesterol compared with those without DPN (P < .002 for all). The variables were not significantly different between participants with type 2 diabetes with or without DPN; however, this might be due to the small sample size of participants with type 2 diabetes, according to the researchers.
The prevalence of DPN was nearly doubled with an increase in diabetes duration from 5 to 10 years to more than 10 years for participants with type 1 diabetes (P < .0001) and type 2 diabetes (P = .02).
“The results of our study suggest that poor glycemic control over time and traditional cardiovascular risk factors are important risk factors associated with DPN and need to be targeted for the prevention of debilitating consequences of DPN in this young cohort,” the researchers wrote. – by Amber Cox
Disclosure: Feldman reports no relevant financial disclosures.
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