title: Truncal pruritus of unknown origin may be a symptom of diabetic polyneuropathy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Our goal was to ascertain the prevalence of pruritus in diabetic and nondiabetic subjects and the relevance of symptoms, signs, and nerve functions of diabetic polyneuropathy (DPN) of pruritus.
  
  
  METHODS
  A large-scale survey of 2,656 diabetic outpatients and 499 nondiabetic subjects was performed. In diabetic subjects, the relationship between pruritus and age, sex, diabetic duration, A1C, Achilles tendon reflex (ATR), and abnormal sensation in legs was evaluated. In 105 diabetic subjects, nerve conduction studies, quantitative vibratory threshold (QVT), heart rate variability, and a fall of systolic blood pressure at a head-up tilt test (DeltaBP) were performed, and the relationships between pruritus and nerve functions were evaluated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Although the prevalence of truncal pruritus of unknown origin (TPUO) in diabetic subjects was significantly higher than that in age-matched nondiabetic subjects (11.3 vs. 2.9%, P = 0.0001), the prevalence of other pruritus was not different between the two groups. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that abnormal sensation and ATR areflexia were independent risk factors for TPUO in age, sex, duration of diabetes, and A1C. DeltaBP in diabetic subjects with TPUO was significantly impaired compared with that in those without TPUO. Larger DeltaBP was identified as a significant risk factor of TPUO independent of other nerve dysfunctions by multiple logistic regression analysis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  TPUO is significantly more frequent in diabetic than in nondiabetic individuals. TPUO is significantly associated with symptoms and signs of DPN, including impaired blood pressure response in a head-up tilt test. TPUO, therefore, might be a newly recognized symptom of DPN.
authors.affiliation: The First Department of Medicine, Wakayama Medical University, Wakayama, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yamaoka
authors.forename: Hideyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sasaki
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yamasaki
authors.forename: Kenichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ogawa
authors.forename: Takayuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ohta
authors.forename: Hiroto
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Furuta
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nishi
authors.forename: Kishio
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nanjo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003929:Diabetic Neuropathies / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011537:Pruritus / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D055815:Young Adult