Who gets diabetic neuropathy?
Estimates are that after living with the disease for 25 years, about 50 percent of people with diabetes have some kind of neuropathy. People with diabetes who smoke, drink alcohol or have poor glucose control seem to have more neuropathy than other people with diabetes. Tight control of blood glucose has a tremendous impact on preventing this disease. In 1993, the federal study, Diabetes Control and Complications Trial, revealed that tight control, keeping blood sugar levels as close to the normal range as possible, reduced the risk of developing neuropathy by 60 percent. Tight control means frequent testing of blood sugar, basing insulin intake on the basis of diet and exercise, following a diet and exercise plan, and staying in close contact with a health care team whose members are skilled at treating diabetes.
