HIV-related peripheral neuropathy and glucose dysmetabolism: study of a public dataset

The authors analyzed the public dataset of Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study to examine the association of glucose dysmetabolism with HIV-related peripheral neuropathy.

Among 5,622 participants in the data, 282 (5%) had peripheral neuropathy, of which 225 had sensory neuropathy. Of 225 participants with sensory neuropathy, 191 (84.8%) had exposure to highly active antiretroviral therapy. Of 225 with sensory neuropathy, 46 had fasting sugars measured; 26 of them (56.5%) had either impaired fasting glucose (fasting glucose >or=110 mg/dl) or diabetes (fasting glucose >or=126 mg/dl). Among 693 participants without neuropathy, who had fasting sugars measured, 441 (63.7%) had glucose dysmetabolism (p = 0.33). The mean HbA(1c) levels in participants with sensory neuropathy (5.1 +/- 1.02, n = 51) were significantly higher than in those without sensory neuropathy (4.8 +/- 0.6, n = 164, p = 0.02), though its clinical relevance is unclear. Among 739 participants who had fasting sugars measured, 63.2% had glucose dysmetabolism, showing high prevalence of glucose dysmetabolism among participants with HIV infection.

Except for slightly higher HbA(1c) levels, there was no significant difference in prevalence of glucose dysmetabolism among participants with and without sensory neuropathy. The study brings up important aspects of using public datasets for epidemiologic studies including its limitations and a unique opportunity for pilot studies for new investigators.