PREVALENCE OF PERIPHERAL NEUROPATHY IN NEWLY DIAGNOSED TYPE 2 DIABETICS

Our objective was to determine the prevalence and risk factors of peripheral neuropathy in newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus. One hundred newly diagnosed type 2 diabetic patients attending Diabetes Clinic, Regional Institute of Medical Sciences, Imphal were randomly selected for clinical and electrophysiological studies for diagnosis of peripheral neuropathy. Peripheral neuropathy was evaluated by using Neuropathy Symptoms Score (NSS), Neuropathy Disability Score (NDS) and Nerve Conduction Studies (NCV) and the diagnosis of peripheral neuropathy was made when two or more of the three abnormalities of NSS, NDS and NCV were present. 29 patients (29%), 17 males (28%) and 12 females (31%) of the 100 newly diagnosed type 2 diabetic patients had peripheral neuropathy. Multiple logistic regression analysis shows that duration of diabetes has maximum contribution and age, systolic blood pressure and blood glucose have some contribution to the development of diabetic peripheral neuropathy. The prevalence of peripheral neuropathy in newly diagnosed type 2 diabetic patients in Manipur using clinical and electrophysiological methods is 29 percent and shows significant correlation between peripheral neuropathy and duration of diabetes, age of the patients and postprandial blood glucose levels.