PREVALENCE AND FORMS OF NEUROPATHIC MORBIDITY IN 800 DIABETICS

We prospectively determined the prevalence of morbidity from the vario us forms of diabetic neuropathy over one year in a population of 800 p atients with diabetes mellitus (336 type 1, 464 type 2 DM). Symptoms d ocumented were: pain/paraesthesia in the feet, loss of feeling and the restless legs syndrome. We also documented the prevalence of: neuropa thic ulcers, amyotrophy, foot drop, and oculomotor palsy. Autonomic sy mptoms documented were: impotence, postural hypotension and diarrhoea. The only symptoms reported by 100 non-diabetic control subjects were: loss of feeling in 2% and restless legs syndrome in 7%. In the diabet ics; pain/paraesthesia was present in 13%, feeling loss in 7% and neur opathic ulcers in 2% . The prevalence of Diabetic amyotrophy (proximal femoral neuropathy) was 0.8%, oculomotor palsy 0.1% and peroneal nerv e palsy 0.1%. Erectile impotence was present in 20%, symptomatic postu ral hypotension in 1% and diabetic diarrhoea in 1%. Overall; 22.9% of the population was afflicted by one or more problems resulting from ne uropathy. Neuropathy was associated with older age (p < 0.001), and se rious retinopathy (p < 0.001) in both groups of diabetics and with dur ation of diabetes, proteinuria (p < 0.02), hypertension (p < 0.01) and ischaemic heart disease (p < 0.02) in type 1 diabetics.