Vitamin D deficiency is associated with painful diabetic neuropathy

• Published in: Diabetes/metabolism research and reviews Vol. 37; no. 1; pp. e3361 - n/a
• Main Authors: Alam, Uazman, Petropoulos, Ioannis N., Ponirakis, Georgios, Ferdousi, Maryam, Asghar, Omar, Jeziorska, Maria, Marshall, Andrew, Boulton, Andrew J. M., Efron, Nathan, Malik, Rayaz A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chichester, UK John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.01.2021; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Biopsy; Confocal microscopy; Cornea; Diabetes; Diabetes mellitus (insulin dependent); Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1; Diabetic Neuropathies - etiology; Diabetic neuropathy; Electrophysiology; Humans; Hyperalgesia; Lipids; Neurological diseases; Pain perception; Painful neuropathy; Skin tests; small fibre neuropathy; Vitamin D; Vitamin D Deficiency - complications; Vitamin deficiency; Painful neuropathy; diabetic neuropathy; vitamin D; small fibre neuropathy
• ISSN: 1520-7552; 1520-7560; 1520-7560
• DOI: 10.1002/dmrr.3361

Background The aetiology of painful diabetic neuropathy is unclear. We have evaluated vitamin D levels in diabetic patients with and without painful neuropathy. Methods Forty‐three patients with type 1 diabetes and painless (DPN) (n = 20) or painful (PDN) (n = 23) neuropathy and 14 non‐diabetic healthy control subjects (C) underwent assessment of neurologic deficits, quantitative sensory testing (QST), electrophysiology, skin biopsy, corneal confocal microscopy (CCM) and measurement of serum 25(OH)D. Results There were no significant differences for age, BMI, HbA1c, lipids, neurological deficits, QST, electrophysiology, intra‐epidermal nerve fibre density (IENFD) and corneal nerve morphology between patients with DPN and PDN. Both positive (hyperalgesia and allodynia) and negative symptoms (paraesthesia and numbness) of diabetic neuropathy were greater in PDN compared with DPN (P = .009 and P = .02, respectively). Serum 25(OH)D levels were significantly lower in PDN (24.0 ± 14.1 ng/mL) compared with DPN (34.6 ± 15.0 ng/mL, P = .01) and controls (34.1 ± 8.6 ng/mL, P = .03). The odds ratio in favour of painful diabetic neuropathy was 9.8 [P = .003 (95% CI, 2.2–76.4)] for vitamin D deficiency (<20 ng/mL) and 4.4 [P = .03 (95% CI, 1.1‐19.8)] for vitamin D insufficiency (<30 ng/mL). Conclusions This study suggests that vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency are associated with painful diabetic neuropathy.