The impact of demographic and clinical characteristics on diabetic painful neuropathy

Abstract

Introduction. Diabetic neuropathy (DN) is one of the most devastating complications of diabetes mellitus; however, in contrast to other countries, there are no scientific studies in Portugal evaluating the impact of demographic and clinical characteristics of this pathological entity. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of gender, metabolic control, age of diabetic patients, as well as time of disease progression, the appearance of complaints related to neuropathic pain.Material and methods. A multicentre study with a non-probabilistic, convenience sample of 359 patients was performed employing the quantitative method, using the Statistical Package for Social Science 24 software. The p-value of p < 0.05 was defined to consider a result statistically significant. The Spearman correlation coefficient (r) was determined to determine the relationship between categorical variables.Results. There was no statistically significant difference in the prevalence of DN between genders (p = 0.633 and r = 0.025). There was a statistically significant relationship between the value of HbA1c and DN, with p = 0.010 and r = 0.136. There is a relationship between age and complaints of neuropathic pain, with p = 0.034 and r = 0.112. The variable, time of disease progression, is also correlated with the appearance of complaints of neuropathic pain with p = 0.020 and r = 0.112.Conclusion. The prevalence of neuropathic pain in subjects with diabetes is not negligible and is associated with modifiable risk factors that can be identified, possibly modified and prevented. The correct approach for these patients, which involves screening and early treatment, is decisive improving functionality and quality of life.

Distal Symmetric Polyneuropathy Pain in Diabetes Mellitus

“…Thus, it is necessary to exclude other causes not to be confused with pains related to diabetes itself, such as symptoms of spinal lesions, which is a widespread disorder (28). About a quarter of the individuals included in this research had NP, which spotlights the magnitude of this complication and the importance of making health professionals aware of the clinical screening of DPN and NP using specific scales for identifying their signs and symptoms (29,30).…”

“…As in our study, increased prevalence of pain was related to high levels of Hb1aC, age group, and DM duration. There are no reports associating sex and ethnicity with pain (29,34).…”

Is metformin a possible treatment for diabetic neuropathy?

“…A large body of studies have clearly suggested that men and women respond to pain differently, as well as to pharmacological pain interventions 99 . There was no difference in the prevalence of diabetic neuropathy between different gender, 100 but female may be a risk factor of PDPN 101,102 …”