Peripheral Neuropathy Tied to Higher Mortality Risk

By Kelly Young

Edited by David G. Fairchild, MD, MPH, and Jaye Elizabeth Hefner, MD

NEJM Journal Watch

Peripheral neuropathy is associated with increased mortality risk, regardless of patients’ diabetes status, according to a study in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Some 7100 U.S. adults aged 40 and older underwent monofilament testing. Roughly 27% of those with diabetes and 12% of those without diabetes had peripheral neuropathy.

During a median 13 years’ follow-up, 30% of participants died. After multivariable adjustment, among those with diabetes, all-cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality rates were higher in those with peripheral neuropathy than in those without it (hazard ratios, 1.5 and 1.7, respectively). Among patients without diabetes, peripheral neuropathy was associated with higher risk for all-cause mortality (HR, 1.3) but not for cardiovascular mortality.

The authors conclude: “These findings suggest that decreased sensation in the foot may be an underrecognized risk factor for death in the general population.”