Is renal impairment predictor of future diabetic peripheral neuropathy? A 6-year follow-up cohort study

Abstract

The relationship between renal impairment and diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) remains inconclusive. We aim to investigate the risk factors for the occurrence of DPN in Taiwanese adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and focus on renal impairment. A hospital-based cohort study was conducted from 2013 to 2019 and 552 Taiwanese people who had T2DM without DPN at baseline were enrolled. DPN was diagnosed using the Michigan Neuropathy Screening Instrument. Potential risk factors were recorded, including patient’s sociodemographic factors, current medication usage and biochemical markers. As of 2019, 73 developed DPN and 479 had no DPN. The cumulative incidence during the 6-year period was 13.22%. A multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that lower estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) (odds ratio [OR] 0.98, p=0.008), higher serum creatinine concentration in people under the age of 65 (OR 5.25, p=0.013), advanced age (OR 1.06, p=0.001), increased body weight (OR 1.04, p=0.018), duration of DM (OR 1.05, p=0.036) and male gender (OR 3.69, p=0.011) were significantly associated with future DPN. In conclusion, this is the first large scaled cohort study to investigate risk factors for DPN in Taiwanese. Lower eGFR, higher serum creatinine concentration, particularly in people under the age of 65, advanced age, increased body weight, duration of DM and male gender are predictors of future DPN. Our study not only confirms the association between renal impairment and future DPN but also provides a commonly available assessment to predict the future DPN.