THE PREVALENCE OF DIABETIC DISTAL SENSORY NEUROPATHY IN AN ENGLISH COMMUNITY

The prevalence of lower limb neuropathy was determined in a known diabetic population. From a general population of 97034 subjects, a total of 1150 diabetic patients were identified of whom 1077 (93.7 %) were reviewed. Neuropathy was defined as symptoms plus one abnormal physical finding, or two abnormal physical findings. An age- and sex-matched non-diabetic control group of 480 individuals was also examined by the same single observer. The prevalence of neuropathy was 16.3 (95 % Cl 14.6-19.0) % in diabetic patients and 2.9 (95 % Cl 1.4-4.4) % in non-diabetic subjects, yielding a prevalence odds of 6.75 (95 % Cl 3.87-11.79), p < 0.001. In Type 1 diabetes, the prevalence was 12.7 (95 % Cl 8.0-17.6) % and in Type 2 diabetes 17.2 (95 % Cl 15.9-18.5) %. After adjusting for age, the difference was not significant (odds ratio (OR) 1.60 (95 % Cl 0.95-2.76)). The prevalence of neuropathy increased with age in diabetic and non-diabetic subjects. Multiple logistic regression analysis of selected (variables revealed that height (OR per cm 1.06 (95 % Cl 1.00-1.1 3), p < 0.05) and retinopathy (OR 9.00 (95 % Cl 7.72-10.30), p < 0.001) in Type 1 diabetes and age (OR per year 1.02 (95 % Cl 1.00-1.05)), height (OR per cm 1.06 (95 % Cl 1.03-1.08), p < 0.001),) alcohol intake (OR per unit of alcohol consumed per week 1.03 (95 % Cl 1.00-1.05), p = 0.005), HbA1 (OR per 1 % 1.21 (95 % Cl 1.08-1.35), p = 0.005), and any retinopathy (OR 2.14 (95 % Cl 1.67-2.62), p = 0.002) in Type 2 diabetes were significant predictors of neuropathy. The prevalence of neuropathy increased with the duration of diabetes but an independent association was not found for either type of diabetes.