Correlation Between Serum Uric Acid and Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy in T2DM Patients

Aim: To investigate the correlation between serum uric acid (SUA) and diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients.

Methods: Two hundred T2DM patients were divided into four groups at the cut-off points of 5, 7, and 9mg/dL of SUA levels. Nerve conduction studies (NCS), Semmes-Weinstein monofilament testing (SWMT), and vibration perception threshold (VPT) tests were performed on these patients.

Results: Significant differences in motor/sensory nerve amplitude and conduction velocity (CV) parameters among different SUA level groups were observed (all P<0.05). SUA levels were negatively correlated with the means of motor/sensory nerve amplitude and CV (all P<0.05). Duration of T2DM >10years, SUA >9mg/dL and total cholesterol (TC) >5.2mmol/L were found to be significantly associated with DPN (all P<0.05). Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) analysis revealed that the cut-off points of T2DM duration combined with SUA and TC were 9years, 7.8mg/dL, and 4.97mmol/L, respectively (AUC=0.65; 95% CI: 0.53-0.77; sensitivity, 70.6%; specificity, 65.2%, P=0.009).

Conclusion: There is a significant association between elevated SUA levels and DPN, and T2DM duration, SUA, and TC may be valuable indicators to predict the occurrence of DPN in T2DM patients.