Nearly one in three people (30%) around the world are affected by chronic pain, meaning that they have been living with persistent or recurrent pain for periods longer than three months.

One form of this condition is neuropathic pain, which is caused by a lesion or disease of the somatosensory nervous system.

While neuropathic pain accounts for 20-25% of chronic pain, it is still commonly underdiagnosed with many patients not receiving the appropriate treatment.

One of the most common causes of neuropathic pain is diabetic peripheral neuropathy.

One in four people with diabetes will develop this complication that causes nerve damage, leading to severe pain in the feet, legs and hands..

This affects their ability to perform daily activities and greatly impacts their quality of life from both an emotional and practical perspective.

People living with diabetic peripheral neuropathy have described the pain in their feet or lower limbs as "hot burning flames from a fire", prickling "thin pins and needles", "electric shocks from a violent lightning bolt", sharp pains from a "stabbing knife", and hundreds of ants "crawling in an annoying and nagging way", among others, causing them worry, anxiety and fright.

According to a recent survey commissioned by American global pharmaceutical and healthcare corporation Viatris, 68% of patients with diabetic peripheral neuropathy in Malaysia claimed to be aware of the association between pain symptoms and diabetes before their diagnosis.

Nevertheless, from the initial onset of symptoms, the main thoughts that crossed patients’ minds were a connection to other existing conditions (25%), a hope that the pain would go away (39%), a connection to ageing (40%), and a temporary condition (36%).

On average, the majority of respondents globally contacted a physician within four months from the first signs and symptoms, and received their diagnosis within six months from the onset of their symptoms.

The survey involved 963 patients from Italy, Spain, Mexico and South Korea, as well as Malaysia.

In Malaysia, the main healthcare provider responsible for the diagnosis was an endocrinologist (covering 68% of the respondents), but general practitioners (GPs) and pain specialists also played an important role (covering 7% and 5% of the respondents respectively).

However, misdiagnosis is still an issue, with 63% of respondents in Malaysia claiming to have received an incorrect diagnosis before their final (correct) one.

Nearly half of the patients interviewed claimed their quality of life is very much, or completely, affected by their diabetic peripheral neuropathy.

Indeed, three in four patients in Malaysia stated they had to adjust their work schedules, while 61% even took a long leave of absence from work.

Around 37% of the Malaysian respondents claimed that the condition has had an impact on their overall mood, while 48% say it has impacted their ability to play sports, and 37%, the quality of their sleep.

However, despite its significant impacts, only one in five patients globally feel they can talk freely about their condition.

In Malaysia, the main reasons for not sharing are the fear of being discriminated against (51%), followed by fear of having problems at work (46%), and shame or embarrassment (38%).

Receiving appropriate and timely treatment for neuropathic pain is vital to help keep the underlying disease under control and improve quality of life.

Overall, 58% of the patients in Malaysia surveyed are taking prescription drugs, of which an equal number (23%) claim to be very much, and completely, satisfied with their treatment.

Other treatments for the condition include dietary supplements (55% of Malaysian respondents), physiotherapy (48%) and herbal remedies (33%).

Generally, 48% of patients feel supported by their loved ones and 51% have learned to live with their condition.

Despite the fact that patients claimed to be satisfied with the explanation they received about chronic pain associated with diabetes, as well as the explanation about their treatment options and related outcomes, 44% of patients in Malaysia still fear they won’t be able to fully recover from the condition and 42% feel as though they are no longer the same person as they were before.

While most symptoms tend to recede over time, just under half of the patients surveyed (44%) claimed they currently still experience intense pain.

With the benefit of hindsight, one in three patients globally would have asked for advice about their symptoms sooner, not have underestimated their symptoms, and explained them better to their physician.

In terms of the kind of support patients feel they need to have, 47% in Malaysia wanted access to psychological support, 43% felt a need for greater awareness among the general public on the burden of chronic pain associated with diabetes, and 36% would like to receive more information on the daily management of chronic pain associated with diabetes.