Biothesiometric Assessment of Persons Living with Diabetes Mellitus in a Tertiary Hospital in Uyo, Southern Nigeria

: Background : The burden of foot ulceration and amputation among persons living with diabetes mellitus is quite huge and peripheral neuropathy is a well known risk factor for this. The prevalence of peripheral neuropathy and associated factors among persons living with diabetes, using an objective assessment (biothesiometer), is unknown in our study environment. Method : This was a cross-sectional study involving 108 age matched diabetes mellitus patients and controls. The study was conducted in the Diabetes Clinic of the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, in Southern Nigeria. Basic demographics and other parameters such as duration of diabetes and glycated haemoglobin were recorded. All participants were recruited consecutively and screened for vibration perception threshold (VPT) using a biothesiometer. Participants with VPT ≥ 25 were considered to have significant neuropathy. Results : Significant neuropathy was recorded in 18 (33.3%) of the 54 diabetes patients. Only 3 (5.5%) of the 54 controls had significant neuropathy (p<0.01). The diabetes patients with significant neuropathy had a mean HbA1c of 8.9% compared to 7.3% for diabetes patients without significant neuropathy (p=0.02). The mean age of the diabetes patients with peripheral neuropathy was 54.0±2.3 years compared to 48.3±1.9 years for the diabetes patients without peripheral neuropathy (p<0.01). The mean duration of diabetes among diabetes patients with significant neuropathy was 10.3 years compared to 6.7 years for diabetes patients without significant neuropathy (p=0.01). Conclusion: There is a high prevalence of significant peripheral neuropathy among diabetes patients as determined using a biothesiometer. Early detection and achieving a good glycaemic control may help in reducing this burden which exposes the patients to the risk of possible amputation, depression and even death.