PREVALENCE AND ASSOCIATED FACTORS OF PERIPHERAL NEUROPATHY IN DIABETIC PATIENTS IN SAUDI ARABIA
Abstract
Background: A serious microvascular diabetic complication is Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy (DPN), which reduces quality of life and increases disability. Understanding the prevalence and associated factors of DPN is crucial in Saudi Arabia where diabetes mellitus (DM) prevalence is amongst the highest globally given that prevalence of DPN is highest in that country compared to other Middle Eastern countries.
Objective: The aim of this study was to find out the prevalence of DPN among diabetic patients in Saudi Arabia and to identify the contributory factors to its development.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from July to December 2024 managing 493 Saudi adults older than 18 years diagnosed with DM. For recruitment, participants came from several different cities, and a structured questionnaire was used to obtain information about demographics, diabetes history and symptoms of neuropathy. SPSS software was used for statistical analysis to analyze the correlation between DPN with different demographic and health related factors.
Results: The mean participant age was 50.5 years old, with 45.8% diabetes >10 years. We found that type 2 diabetes was significantly more common (55.0%). Of note, 50.3% of participants never experienced neuropathic pain, and 31.8% experienced occasional symptoms. Sensory loss was present in a significant proportion (14.2%) suggestive of possible neuropathy. There were statistically significant relationships between neuropathic symptoms and gender, age, weight, educational level and duration of diabetes (P< 0.001 for most factors). Even though they had good engagement in blood sugar monitoring (84.8%), 41.4% of participants had never received professional advice for the management of DPN.
Conclusion: The results confirm the high prevalence of DPN in diabetic Saudi patients and identify significant associations with demographic or health related factors. Prompted from this study, the need for a greater awareness of DPN, and healthcare interventions to ameliorate it as effectively as possible has been highlighted, especially in populations which have prolonged diabetes duration and restricted access to professional healthcare. Efforts of education and early detection are needed in future DPN strategies to limit the impact on patient quality of life.