On Friday 4 July at 13:00, Frederik Pagh Bredahl Kristensen defends his PhD dissertation entitled "Polyneuropathy in Type 2 Diabetes: Associations with Diabetes Subgroups, Lipid Levels, and Glucose-Lowering Drug Therapy".

Diabetic neuropathy affects approximately 30% of individuals with type 2 diabetes and is associated with disabling pain, increased morbidity, and elevated mortality. Neuropathy has multiple risk factors, including the degree of obesity and all components of the metabolic syndrome. Prevention is crucial, as no effective treatment currently exists. A new PhD project at Aarhus University, Health, investigates the associations between subgroups of type 2 diabetes, β-cell function and insulin sensitivity, and neuropathy; between lipid levels and neuropathy; and between newer glucose-lowering medications, sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) and glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RA), and diabetic foot disease. 

The project used both population-based national registries and detailed data from the clinical cohort of the Danish Centre for Strategic Research in Type 2 Diabetes (DD2). The findings suggest that higher HOMA2-B levels and triglycerides may represent important risk factors for neuropathy, independent of the metabolic syndrome. Use of SGLT2is and GLP-1RAs was associated with a similar risk of foot disease six years after treatment initiation. These results may contribute to a deeper understanding of neuropathy risk factors and support efforts to prevent its onset in individuals with type 2 diabetes.

The summary is written by the PhD student.

The defence is public and takes place at the Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Olof Palmes Allé. Please see the press release for more information. 

Contact

PhD student Frederik Pagh Bredahl Kristensen
Mail: fpk@clin.au.dk 
Phone: 8716 8237

Read full press release