PAIN-related conditions affect a great number of people with 30 per cent of the world's population suffering from chronic pain, meaning they have been living with persistent or recurrent pain for longer than three months.
To learn more about the impact of neuropathic pain (NeP) and the unmet needs of diabetes sufferers, Viatris conducted a new survey recently involving 963 patients from Italy, Spain, Malaysia, Mexico, and South Korea.
Neuropathic pain (NeP) is defined as pain caused by a lesion or disease of the somatosensory nervous system. While this condition accounts for 20-25 per cent of chronic pain, it is still commonly underdiagnosed with patients not receiving appropriate treatment.
One of the most common causes of NeP is diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN), which is the most prevalent chronic complication of diabetes since it causes nerve damage, leading to severe pain in the feet, legs, and hands.
One in four people with diabetes can develop painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy. This affects their ability to perform daily activities and greatly impacts their quality of life.
Nearly half a billion people have diabetes worldwide and, as cases are expected to increase by 51 per cent by 2024, the associated complication of NeP is equally becoming a growing concern.
Painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy affects one's mood and ability to perform daily activities.
In the survey, 75 per cent of patients in Malaysia stated they had to adjust their work schedules while 61 per cent even had to take a long leave of absence due to the condition.
Respondents also stated that pDPN has an impact on their overall mood, ability to play sports and even the quality of their sleep.
However, despite its significant impacts, only 1 in 5 patients globally feel they can talk freely about their condition. In Malaysia, the main reasons for patients not sharing details of their condition are fear of being discriminated against, concerns over problems at work and shame or embarrassment.