Diabetes has been described as ‘‘not only a health crisis; it is a global societal catastrophe". It is becoming increasingly common globally, primarily as a result of the rising prevalence of type 2 diabetes. The global diabetes prevalence in 2019 is estimated to be 9.3%, equal to 463 million people with diabetes. Egypt is 9th of the top 10 countries for the number of adults with diabetes, with the current figure of 8.9 millions predicted to increase to 11.9 millions by 2030 and to 16.9 millions by 2045.
The main brunt of diabetic complications affects the vascular tree leading to both microvascular and macrovascular complications.
Diabetic neuropathies are the most prevalent chronic complications of diabetes affecting up to 50 % of diabetic patients. Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) is the most common chronic complication of diabetes and is the commonest cause of neuropathy worldwide accounting for about 75% of the diabetic neuropathies.
Current studies show that risk factors for diabetic peripheral neuropathy include the duration of diabetes, age, gender, family history of diabetes mellitus, glycemic control, smoking, and BMI and waist circumference, dyslipidemia, hypertension, presence of other diabetic vascular complications.