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Risk factors for diabetic peripheral sensory neuropathy. Results of the Seattle Prospective Diabetic Foot Study
A I Adler1, E J Boyko, J H Ahroni
1Northwest Health Services Research and Development Program, Veterans Administration Puget Sound Health Care System, University of Washington, Seattle, USA. amanda.adler@clinical-medicine.oxford.ac.uk
Objective:
To identify risk factors for diabetic lower-extremity peripheral sensory neuropathy prospectively in a cohort of U.S. veterans with diabetes.
Research Design And Methods:
General medicine clinic outpatients with diabetes were followed prospectively for the development of insensitivity to the 5.07 monofilament on the foot.
Results:
Of 775 subjects, 388 (50%) had neuropathy at baseline. Of the 387 subjects without neuropathy at baseline, 288 were followed up, and of these, 58 (20%) developed neuropathy. Multivariate logistic regression modeling of prevalent neuropathy controlling for sex and race revealed independent and significant associations with age, duration of diabetes, glycohemoglobin level, height, history of lower-extremity ulceration, callus, and edema; an independent and inverse correlation was noted with ankle-arm index. Risk factors for incident neuropathy in multivariate logistic regression included age, baseline glycohemoglobin level, height, history of ulcer, and CAGE screening instrument alcohol score; current smoking and albumin level were inversely associated with risk.
Conclusions:
Poorer glycemic control increases the risk of neuropathy and is amenable to intervention. Height and age directly increase risk of neuropathy and may help identify patients at risk. A proportion of neuropathy in diabetic veterans is probably due to or worsened by alcohol ingestion. Neuropathy was less common in current smokers than subjects not currently smoking.