The FINANCIAL — Pfizer Inc. in collaboration with the American Diabetes Association on March 9 announced results of a joint multicultural survey, Community Health Perspectives, which found significant gaps in awareness, diagnosis and management of a serious diabetes-related complication known as painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy or diabetic nerve pain.
The findings were particularly pronounced among African American and Hispanic American communities that experience symptoms of diabetic nerve pain, including burning, shooting pain in the feet or hands. Community Health Perspectives was conducted to support Step On Up, an educational program about diabetic nerve pain that encourages people to speak with a health care provider.
“I got involved with Step On Up because I saw firsthand how the pain impacted my father, who has type 2 diabetes and diabetic nerve pain. Results from this survey show he’s not alone, especially in the African American community,” said Cedric “The Entertainer,” award-winning actor and comedian. “Nearly half of African Americans surveyed had not talked to a health care provider about their nerve pain in the feet and/or hands. I want to encourage people experiencing symptoms of diabetic nerve pain to take action and speak with a doctor about their pain.”
Community Health Perspectives surveyed a main sample of 1,000 adults (“general respondents”) in the United States who had been diagnosed with diabetes and experienced symptoms of diabetic nerve pain in their feet and/or hands. Among the general respondents, 76 percent reported feeling nerve pain in the feet or hands most or all of the time, according to Pfizer.
The main sample included African American and Hispanic American respondents. An additional sample of African American (n=452) and Hispanic American (n=467) adults were then surveyed for further analysis. The results below represent the combined African American and Hispanic American samples, which found:
On average, African American and Hispanic American respondents showed that more than 50 percent were not diagnosed with the condition.
More than half of African Americans surveyed said that nerve pain in their feet and/or hands impacts their day-to-day life more than any other symptom of their diabetes.
Hispanic American and African American respondents (74 percent and 80 percent, respectively) were also less likely than Non-Hispanic Whites (97 percent) to agree that nerve pain is a common complication of diabetes.
Of those African American and Hispanic American respondents who had discussed their nerve pain symptoms with their health care provider and were diagnosed with diabetic nerve pain, the majority wished they had spoken up sooner (80 percent and 85 percent, respectively).
“Diabetes-related complications are common and debilitating, and seven out of ten general respondents diagnosed with diabetic nerve pain said that their nerve pain makes them feel like they are not successfully managing their diabetes,” said Jane Chiang, MD, Senior Vice President for Medical Affairs and Community Affairs of the American Diabetes Association. “Community Health Perspectives confirms the need for ongoing education to motivate more people living with diabetes and symptoms of diabetic nerve pain to visit their doctor and seek some pain relief.”
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