Distal symmetrical polyneuropathy detected by vibration perception threshold among adults with and without diabetes attending a general outpatient clinic in Ilorin, Nigeria

The aim of this study is to compare the prevalence, severity, and symptoms of Distal Symmetrical Polyneuropathy (DSP) among adult patients with diabetes and those without diabetes in a primary care clinic. It was a cross-sectional comparative study involving 72 adults of between 40-60 years of age living with diabetes and 72 age-matched adults without diabetes. DSP was assessed with a biothesiometer device, and data analysis was performed using the SPSS Version 21 statistical software. The overall prevalence of neuropathy among the participants was 68.1% for those living with diabetes and 38.9% for the other group. Furthermore, 22.3% of the diabetes group had severe neuropathy compared with 8.3% of the other group. These differences were found to be statistically significant with p=0.001 (df = 2, X2 = 14.07). We reported higher prevalence and severity of DSP in those living with diabetes. We also found significant association between high VPT (≥25V) and presence of neuropathic symptoms thereby enhancing the use of the biothesiometer device in the diagnosis of adults with DSP in the primary care setting.

Body mass index, blood pressure, and cognitive impairment among type 2 diabetic patients in a primary care setting, North-Central Nigeria

The long-term effects of certain clinical factors on cognition cannot be overemphasized. The morbidity of Cognitive Impairment (CI) in patients with type 2 diabetes has been found to increase when associated with some clinical factors. The main objective of this study was to determine the relationship between CI and Body Mass Index (BMI) as well as CI and Blood Pressure (BP), among type 2 diabetic patients attending the primary care unit of a tertiary hospital. It was a descriptive hospital-based crosssectional study. Ethical approval was obtained from the Ethical Review Committee of the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH) before the commencement of the study. Data was collected from 274 adult type 2 diabetic patients attending the Family Medicine clinics of the hospital, from March through May 2017. Interviewer-administered structured and semi-structured questionnaires were used to obtain information from the respondents. The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) was used to assess CI among respondents. The BMI and BP of participants were obtained following standard procedure. Data was collated and analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 21 (SPSS- 21). The elderly constituted a higher proportion of participants 55.4%. Respondents were mainly females (70.8%), married (78.8%), and educated (78.1%). The clinical factor that had a statistically significant association with CI was the BMI of participants with a chi-square value (χ2) of 11.139 and a p-value of 0.048. Blood pressure had no statistically significant association with CI (χ2 of 5.181 and p-value of 0.159). CI is common in our clinics with a prevalence of 27% seen in this study. BMI had a statistically significant association with CI while BP was not. Hence, maintaining a normal weight may help in controlling CI. Physicians in primary care should routinely screen type 2 diabetic patients for CI as well as control risk factors for it.