Time to diabetic neuropathy and its predictors among newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus patients in Northwest Ethiopia

Introduction Despite the high number of patients suffering from the negative impact of diabetic neuropathy (DN) in Ethiopia, evidence regarding the time to DN and its predictors are not well document in Ethiopia. Therefore, the current study aimed to determine time to DN and its predictors among newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes patients (T2DM) in North West Ethiopia. Methods Institutional based retrospective cohort study was conducted among 463 T2DM. Cox proportional hazard model was fitted to identify predictors of time to DN. The adjusted hazard ratio (AHR) with its 95% confidence interval was used to declare the presence and strength of association. Results From a total 463 study participants, 77 (16.63%), (95% CI 13.23%, 20.03%) had developed diabetic neuropathy. The median time to develop DN was 233.77 months. About 40 (51.95%) diabetic neuropathy cases occurred within 6 years of diagnosis of diabetic mellitus. The incidence density was 2.01/100 PY with 95% CI of [1.60, 2.53]. In the multivariable Cox proportional hazard analysis; being aged 65–69 [AHR = 2.78; 95% CI 1.20, 6.46], living with diabetes for less than 4 years [AHR = 3.77; 95% CI 1.82, 7.76], having anaemia [AHR = 3.82; 95% CI 1.66, 8.82] and having other complications [AHR = 1.68; 95% CI 1.03, 2.76 were significant predictors of DN. Conclusion More than half of diabetic neuropathy cases occurred within a short period of diagnosed with T2DM. Significant predictors for the time to DN were age, duration, having anaemia and other DM complication. Therefore, we recommend that early screening for DM and its complication for risky groups. While doing that due consideration should be assumed for old and anemic patients.