Evaluation of polyneuropathy and associated risk factors in children with type 1 diabetes mellitus.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the most common metabolic diseases seen in the world today. Diabetic neuropathy (DN) is a chronic complication of the disease that is rarely reported in children, since it has a relatively longer latency period. Our main objective in this study is to determine the incidence rate of DN in pediatric DM patients and assess the risk factors associated with DN.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data from 111 patients from January 2011 to May 2014 were reviewed in a retrospective manner. Nerve conduction studies were performed as the gold standard in diagnosis.

RESULTS: The incidence rate of symptomatic DN was 13.5% according to our study results. The EMG-diagnosed DN incidence rate was calculated as 22.5%. Following linear regression analysis, positive correlation was found between diabetes duration, diabetic ketoacidosis, and DN presence.

CONCLUSION: Our study results demonstrate the fact that poor metabolic control, especially during early stages of the disease, is a major risk factor for neuropathy development. Planning prospective studies with long-term evaluations on nerve conduction in children with DM will be beneficial for this subject.