Painful diabetic neuropathy in Japanese diabetic patients is common but underrecognized

Mayumi Tsuji; Tetsuyuki Yasuda; Hideaki Kaneto; Taka-Aki Matsuoka; Takahisa Hirose; Ryuzo Kawamori; Masako Iseki; Iichiro Shimomura; Masahiko Shibata

doi:10.1155/2013/318352

Painful diabetic neuropathy in Japanese diabetic patients is common but underrecognized

Pain Res Treat. 2013:2013:318352. doi: 10.1155/2013/318352. Epub 2013 Nov 26.

Authors

Mayumi Tsuji¹, Tetsuyuki Yasuda¹, Hideaki Kaneto¹, Taka-Aki Matsuoka¹, Takahisa Hirose², Ryuzo Kawamori³, Masako Iseki⁴, Iichiro Shimomura¹, Masahiko Shibata⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Metabolic Medicine, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-2 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan.
² Division of Diabetes, Metabolism, and Endocrinology, Department of Medicine, Toho University School of Medicine, 5-21-16 Ohmorinishi, Ota-ku, Tokyo 143-8540, Japan.
³ Sportology Center, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, 3-1-3 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8431, Japan.
⁴ Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Management, Juntendo University School of Medicine, 3-1-3 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8431, Japan.
⁵ Pain Medicine, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-2 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan.

Abstract

Although chronic pain due to diabetic neuropathy, defined as painful diabetic neuropathy (PDN), is a debilitating and distressing complication of diabetes, epidemiological data on PDN has been scarce, especially in Asia. We evaluated the prevalence of Japanese PDN and its impact on their quality of life (QOL) and metnal state. In addition, we examined to which extent physicians are aware of patients' PDN. A total of 298 patients with diabetes were found to be eligible for the study. We revealed that substantial percentage (22.1%) of Japanese diabetic patients had PDN and that PDN had negative effect on patients' QOL and mental state. However, physicians were aware of PDN in only 36.4% of patients with the condition. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report showing the extent of physicians' awareness of patients' PDN. In conclusion, physicians treating diabetes need to be more aware of patients' PDN in everyday clinical practice to prevent the progression of PDN and improve the patients' QOL and mental state.