An investigation to determine the association of burning mouth syndrome-like symptoms with diabetic peripheral neuropathy in patients with type II diabetes

Objective: Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) affects over 40% of diabetic patients. It presents as numbness, pain, or touch sensitivity. Its neuropathic origin and clinical presentation resembles that of burning mouth syndrome (BMS), however the association between the two processes in not well documented. This investigation aimed to explore the association between DPN and BMS-like symptoms. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted in Islamabad. Following implementation of the exclusion criterion, 350 consenting patients were requested to provide information about their demographics, time of onset of diabetes, mode of treatment, HbA1c, diabetic status, presence of DPN and positivity of BMS symptoms. Results: One hundred and eighty-nine (54%) presented with BMS-like symptoms, while 161 (46%) did not. Statistically significant relationship was noted between the presence of BMS and age, treatment regimen, time since diagnosis, Hb1AC, diabetic status and DPN of hands and feet and nature of peripheral neuropathy. According to binary logistic regression analysis three predictor variables for BMS were isolated, these included diabetic status, peripheral neuropathy of hands and peripheral neuropathy of feet. Conclusion: Uncontrolled diabetes, presence DPN of hands and feet in patients are strong predictors of BMS-like symptoms in patients with type II diabetes mellitus.