Prevalence of Peripheral Neuropathy and its Related Factors in Diabetic Children, Neishabour City, Iran

One of the most common metabolic diseases is diabetes mellitus (DM), which its prevalence is growing trend. Early diagnose peripheral neuropathy (DPN) in early stages of patients with DM contributes to metabolic control and prevents severe complications. We aimed to determine the prevalence of peripheral neuropathy (PN) and its related factor in Diabetic children.
This cross-sectional study was performed among 60 children with diabetes (type 1) who referring the pediatric endocrinology clinic of Hakim Hospital, Neyshabur city, Iran, in 2016. The neurological symptom score was used for the assessment of neurological features. Neuropathy disability score (NDS) was obtained from the examination of vibration perception (by means of a 128-Hz tuning fork). Peripheral vascular examination was also carried out via evaluating dorsalis pedis and posterior tibial pulses by a neurologist.
The mean age of the children was 10.8±3.38 years. About 56.2% of the patients were female. Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) score was moderate in 6.7% of the children and it was mild in 38.3% of them. In general, 23% of the children with hemoglobin A1C (HbA1c) higher than the normal range had PN. Assessment of the degree of DPN based on duration of diabetes showed a significant difference among the participants (P=0.05). The study of HbA1C rate based on different degrees of DPN showed a significant difference (P=0.001). In addition, we found a significant difference in FBS score between the children with DPN and children without it (P=0.01).
According the results, more than 23% of children with diabetes had DPN, and the duration of diabetes was a related factor in PN. Therefore, neurological assessment including nerve conduction studies and meticulous physical examination should be performed for evaluating the function of large sensory and motor fibers.