Profile of neurological problems in diabetes mellitus retrospective analysis of data from 1294 patients.

Data from 1294 patients with diabetes mellitus admitted to the Endocrinology Department of the Institute of Medical Sciences, Srinagar, Kashmir, from 1986 to 1994, were analyzed for frequency of various neurological problems. Of 1294 patients, 46.29% had clinical evidence of one or more neurological problems. The frequency of neurological problems was significantly more in patients with type II diabetes mellitus (P<0.001). Predominant neurological problems included peripheral neuropathy (96.66%), stroke (5.51%), Parkinsonism (1.50%), seizure disorder (1.17%) and dementia (1%). Mean (+/- SD) age of patients with neurological problems was significantly more (P<0.001) than those without neurological problems (52.07+/- 9.52 versus 47.45+/- 12.87 years for type II diabetes mellitus; 26.73+/- 8.40 versus 18.0+/- 3.62 for type I diabetes mellitus). Mean duration of diabetes in patients with neurological problems was significantly more than those without neurological problems (6.70+/- 6.04 versus 3.95+/- 4.22 years for type II diabetes mellitus; 5.63+/- 3.67 versus 1.89+/- 2.57 for type I diabetes mellitus). At the time of admission, fasting blood glucose was lower in patients without neurological problems as compared to patients with problems (9.08+/- 2.22 versus 11.05+/- 4.91 mmol/L for type II diabetes mellitus; 9.44+/- 2.80 versus 13.01+/- 5.01 mmol/L for type I diabetes mellitus; P7lt;0.001).