The Prevalence of Peripheral Neuropathy in a Cohort of Egyptians with Prediabetes. Clinical and Electrophysiological Study

Abstract

Objective: We aimed to identify the prevalence of neuropathy in prediabetes (NPD) in a cohort of Egyptian subjects and to assess the risk factors associated with its development. Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 152 subjects with prediabetes diagnosed according to the American Diabetes Association. All participants were subjected to clinical assessment, laboratory investigations, and electrophysiological studies to assess the prevalence of NPD. Results: Peripheral neuropathy (PN) was diagnosed in 21.1% of subjects with prediabetes, all of whom had sensory neuropathy. Subjects with prediabetes diagnosed with PN were older, had increased body mass index (BMI), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), hemoglobin A1C (HbA1c), fasting plasma glucose (FPG), and 2-hour postprandial plasma glucose levels (2Hr-PG) and decreased high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels compared to subjects with prediabetes without PN. However, in a multivariate linear regression analysis, none of the factors were found to be significant risk factors for the development of NPD. Conclusions: Approximately 21.1% of our subjects with prediabetes have been identified with sensory neuropathy. Advanced age, increased BMI, LDL, HbA1c, FPG, and 2Hr-PG levels as well as decreased HDL levels were risk factors of NPD. NPD is likely a multifactorial disease that is influenced by several risk factors.