Association between Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy as Measured Using a Point-of-Care Sural Nerve Conduction Device and Urinary Albumin Excretion in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes

Background: It is not well known whether diabetic peripheral neuropathy diagnosed using a non-invasive point-of-care nerve conduction device called DPN-Check(®) is associated with diabetic nephropathy. Thus, we aimed to evaluate the association of diabetic peripheral neuropathy with urinary albumin excretion in patients with type 2 diabetes using DPN-Check(®). Methods: This retrospective observational study included 323 Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes. The urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio in a spot urine sample was defined as urinary albumin excretion. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to determine the association of DPN-Check(®)-determined diabetic peripheral neuropathy with urinary albumin excretion. Results: Patients with DPN-Check(®)-determined diabetic peripheral neuropathy had significantly higher urinary albumin excretion than those without, while there was no difference in urinary albumin excretion between patients with and without diabetic peripheral neuropathy determined by simplified diagnostic criteria. In the multivariate model, the DPN-Check(®) determined that diabetic peripheral neuropathy was significantly associated with urinary albumin excretion even after adjustment for covariates (standardized β, 0.123; p = 0.012). Conclusions: Our study found a significant association between diabetic peripheral neuropathy diagnosed using DPN-Check(®) and urinary albumin excretion in patients with type 2 diabetes.