Prevalence and characteristics of painful diabetic neuropathy in a large community-based diabetic population in the U.K.

Objective: To assess, in the general diabetic population, 1) the prevalence of painful neuropathic symptoms; 2) the relationship between symptoms and clinical severity of neuropathy; and 3) the role of diabetes type, sex, and ethnicity in painful neuropathy.

Research Design And Methods: Observational study of a large cohort of diabetic patients receiving community-based health care in northwest England (n = 15,692). Painful diabetic neuropathy (PDN) was assessed using neuropathy symptom score (NSS) and neuropathy disability score (NDS).

Foot ulcer risk is lower in South-Asian and african-Caribbean compared with European diabetic patients in the U.K.: the North-West diabetes foot care study.

Objective: To determine 1) foot ulcer rates for European, South-Asian, and African-Caribbean diabetic patients in the U.K and 2) the contribution of neuropathy and peripheral arterial disease (PAD) differences to altered ulcer risk between the groups.

Research Design And Methods: In this U.