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. 2022 Jan 21:12:813210.
doi: 10.3389/fendo.2021.813210. eCollection 2021.

Status of Analgesic Drugs and Quality of Life Results for Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy in China

Jingxuan Lian  1 , Haijun Wang  2 , Rongrong Cui  3 , Chaoxia Zhang  4 , Jianfang Fu  1
Affiliations

Status of Analgesic Drugs and Quality of Life Results for Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy in China

Jingxuan Lian et al. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). .

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study is to describe the current clinical situation of patients with painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) and related anxiety, depression, and the quality of life of patients in mainland China, and to report the current status of the use of analgesics.

Methods: Between June 15, 2021, and October 15, 2021, a total of 401 participants participated in the study. Recruitment was carried out using a multi-level sampling method. Participants' demographics, medical history, analgesic use, Michigan Symptom Score (MNSI), Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) pain score, Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9) score, Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7 (GAD) -7) Score, quality of life score (SF-12) and diabetes treatment status were collected.

Results: Among the participants, there were 236 male patients and female patients. Participants were 322 patients over 40 years old. Regarding the use of analgesics: 132 patients reported using analgesics, 221 patients reported not using analgesics, and 48 patients reported having used analgesics. The results of the scale showed that the scores of NRS, GAD-7, PHQ-9 and SF-12 were 5.12 ± 2.15, 6.33 ± 3.67, 8.46 ± 4.07 and 47.84 ± 19.92 for patients who used analgesics, Compared with patients who did not use analgesics (NRS: 1.99 ± 1.7, GAD-7: 1.81 ± 2.81, PHQ-9: 3.13 ± 4.10, SF-12: 78.34 ± 21.66) there are significant differences (p< 0.001). In addition, patients' NRS scores are also closely related to GAD-7, PHQ-9 and SF-12 scores.

Conclusion: The severity of symptoms, mental status and quality of life of patients who used analgesics were more severe than those of patients who did not use analgesics. Pregabalin is still the preferred analgesic for patients with painful DPN, and the use of opioids in my country is extremely low, which is consistent with current international guidelines. Age, diabetic duration, DPN duration, PHQ-9 score, GAD-7 score and SF-12 scores are closely related to NRS pain scores. In addition, there are still a considerable number of patients who have not used analgesics due to financial burdens and other reasons, suggesting that China still has insufficient pain management in DPN patients.

Keywords: GAD-7; NRS; PHQ-9; analgesics; diabetic peripheral neuropathy.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Different scale scores. (A) NRS scores for each group; (B) MNSI symptom score of each group; (C) PHQ-9 scores for each group; (D) Distribution of PHQ-9 scores in each group; (E) GAD-7 scores for each group; (F) Distribution of GAD-7 scores in each group; (G) SF-12 scores for each group; (H) Distribution of SF-12 scores in eachv group. Data are means ± SEM. ns, no significance. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01 and ***P < 0.001.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The current status of the use of analgesics in each group of patients. (A) Currently commonly used analgesics for DPN patients; (B) Patient satisfaction with analgesics; (C) Patient’s self-reported pain relief after medication; (D) Patients report the economic burden of using analgesics; (E) The ratio of the cost of analgesics to the cost of diabetes treatment; (F) Patient’s self-reporting of the effect of analgesics on the quality of life; (G) The patient’s preference for the considerations of choosing analgesic drugs.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Heat map of the correlation between NRS scores and different factors.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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