Yuchen Tang,1 PingPing Zhang,2 Li Li,1 Jialin Li1 

1Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, The First Affiliated Hospital of Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, People’s Republic of China; 2Ningbo Center for Healthy Lifestyle Research, The First Affiliated Hospital of Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, People’s Republic of China

Correspondence: Jialin Li, Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, The First Affiliated Hospital of Ningbo University, No. 59 Liuting Street, Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, 315000, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 13780008400, Email fyylijialin@nbu.edu.cn

Purpose: Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) is a prevalent chronic complication of diabetes which is linked to chronic hyperglycemia and glycemic variability. This study aimed to investigate the association between the glycemia risk index (GRI) and DPN in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) using continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) data.
Patients and Methods: From 2019 to 2023, 862 adults diagnosed with T2DM were enrolled at a tertiary care diabetes center in Ningbo, China. The medical history and laboratory parameters were recorded. Neurophysiological examinations were performed to evaluate DPN. The CGM data were recorded for 14 days, and the GRI was calculated based on these data. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to assess the odds ratio (OR) for DPN with an increased GRI.
Results: The prevalence of DPN in the ascending GRI quartiles was 41.6%, 47.9%, 49.1%, and 59.5%, respectively (P for trend < 0.001). In the multivariable logistic analysis, the highest GRI quartile exhibited a 63% greater risk of DPN (OR 1.631, 95% CI: 1.071 to 2.484, P = 0.023) than the lowest quartile after adjusted for age, sex, body mass index, diabetes duration, blood pressure, creatinine, urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio, lipid profile and glycated hemoglobin.
Conclusion: High GRI levels, as measured by CGM, were associated with a greater likelihood of DPN in T2DM patients.

Keywords: continuous glucose monitoring, glycemia risk index, diabetic peripheral neuropathy, microvascular complications