2023-09-21 13:21:19
Patients, ‘distressed’ by ‘discrimination and low understanding of disease’
Manager Kim Jong-hwa: “Quality of life can be improved through early diagnosis and active treatment.”
Not many patients are aware of the pain caused by diabetes. However, once the pain begins, it becomes another disease.
In the medical community, this is referred to as diabetic peripheral neuritis or diabetic peripheral neuropathy. It is a disease that occurs when diabetic patients are exposed to high blood sugar over a long period of time, resulting in peripheral nerve dysfunction. It occurs in approximately 30% of diabetic patients.
In a five-country survey conducted on patients suffering from diabetic peripheral neuropathy, a representative diabetic complication, Korean patients showed high awareness with 86% responding that they were “aware of the relationship between diabetes and pain,” but the actual symptoms The tendency not to initially attribute pain due to diabetes (other symptoms or aging) was lower than in other countries, showing a gap between knowledge regarding the disease and actual experience.
On the 21st, Beatrice Korea released the results of a survey conducted on 963 diabetic patients with neuropathic pain in five countries, including Korea, Italy, Spain, Malaysia, and Mexico, in celebration of September’s Pain Awareness Month.
In the survey, 86% of domestic respondents answered that they were aware of the relationship between diabetes and pain before being diagnosed, which was the highest among the five countries. The global average was only 61%. On the other hand, when the initial symptoms actually appeared, they did not think of them as pain due to diabetes, but thought of them as other existing symptoms (67%) or as due to aging (45%).
Additionally, domestic patients were found to take the longest time to be diagnosed with neuropathic pain. While the global average was ‘within 4 months’ following the first sign or symptom appeared, Korea’s response was 2 months later at 6 months.
In the average of the five countries, the majority of respondents received a final diagnosis within 6 months following the onset of initial symptoms, but in Korea, it took 12 months to receive a final diagnosis. The proportion of domestic patients who answered that they had received treatment for other diseases before receiving a final diagnosis was 61%, which was higher than the average of the five countries (43%).
More than half of the patients responded that their quality of life was ‘very or completely affected’ by painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy. Among domestic patients, an even higher percentage (73%) said their lives were ‘very or completely affected’ by their disease, and three out of five said they had to take long-term leave and adjust their activities at work due to their disease.
Painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy affects approximately half of patients in all countries surveyed, affecting their overall emotional state (52% globally, 55% in Korea), exercise capacity (52% globally, 63% in Korea), and sleep quality. (9% globally, 57% in Korea) responded that it has an impact. In addition, many patients were found to be afraid of not being able to recover once more (52% globally, 52% in Korea). In particular, domestic patients said that they felt disabled due to pain (61%), or that pain made them a burden to others or made them feel like giving up important things (56% and 55%, respectively).
In a survey asking whether they might explain their disease, only 5 out of 100 Korean patients (5%) responded that they might freely talk regarding their condition to anyone. This figure is significantly lower than Spain’s 23%, Italy’s 26%, Mexico’s 35%, and Malaysia’s 13%.
Patients cited ‘fear of discrimination’ (37%) and ‘fear of not being understood regarding their disease’ (37%) as reasons for not being able to talk regarding it. This was followed by disadvantages in work life (36%) as the main cause.
54% of domestic patients responded that their disease was being treated with medicine. In addition, they said they were receiving help from physical therapy (37%), topical treatments (36%), and health functional foods (34%).
Kim Jong-hwa, head of the Department of Endocrinology at Sejong Hospital in Bucheon, said, “Diabetic peripheral neuropathy is a chronic progressive disease that causes chronic pain, foot ulcers, foot infections, and in severe cases, even amputation may be necessary, and socioeconomic costs also increase. Timely diagnosis is essential.” “It is an essential element to avoid the risk of irreversible nerve damage,” he emphasized.
He continued, “Proper understanding is needed so that patients can clearly express and explain their symptoms and receive appropriate treatment at the right time,” and added, “Early diagnosis and treatment can improve patients’ quality of life and reduce the burden of medical expenses.”
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