Prevalence of peripheral neuropathy in children with type 1 diabetes mellitus

Abstract

Objectives: To study the prevalence of peripheral neuropathy (PN) in type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM) and its association with clinical neuropathy and glycemic control by using nerve conduction studies (NCS). Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in a tertiary care center from January 2018 to May 2019. Type 1 DM with at least a five-year duration was included. Demographic, clinical, and laboratory details were collected and analyzed. Results: A total of 95 (40 boys) children with a mean age of 11.8 ± 3.4years were included. Neuropathy was clinically noted in 9 out of 95 (9.4%) patients and by NCS in 46 out of 95 (48.4%) patients. The PN has a significant association with the duration of illness (P-0.05) and HbA1c (P < 0.001). The sensitivity and specificity of detecting neuropathy by HbA1c was 63.0% and 63.3%, respectively. For every unit increase in HbA1c, the odds ratio for nerve conduction increases by 55.2%. Conclusion: The prevalence of neuropathy is high in children with type 1 DM. The duration of illness and poor glycemic control are major risk factors.