Background
: As a complication peripheral polyneuropathy is frequently observed in diabetic patients. Although it has been reported that the duration of diabetes and the status of diaberic control played critical roles in pathogenesis of peripheral polyneuropathy, nothing else was known previously. In this paper we investigate the possible relationship between peripheral polyeuropathy and smoking among the diabetic patients, consequently to study if smoking induces any significant effects on the pathogenesis of the peripheral polyenuopathy.

Methods : The one hundred and four patients showing the symptom of periheral polyneuropthy and the same number of patients without the symtpom were chose among 296 patients, after excluding seemingly irrelevant 88 patients, who were hospitalized in the Presbyterian Medial Center at Jeonju from 1992. 1.1 to 1993.7.31. Those selected patients were called up for a inquiry and their medial records were also looked up in order to obtain the relevant data for the current investigation. The obtained data were the age, sex, duration of diabetes dringking behavior, and amount of smoking. These were analyzed statistically by utilizing SAS.

Results : The mean age of the group with the symptom of peripheral polyneuropathy is 57.5 years and that of the group without any symptom is 58.6 years. There shows no difference in the sexual ratio between two groups. Also, observed is that the age of onset of diabetes is younger, the duration of diabetes is longer, and more patients are using insulin in the group without the symptom of peripheral polyneuropathy(P<0.05). compared to the group without the symptom. On the other hand, no difference is noticed between the groups in the fasting blood suqar and the amount of smoking. Neither is seen the diffence of the onset age and duration of diabetes, and the controlling method of the blood glucose between the smoker and nonsmoker group.

Conclusion : It is not observed any relevant association between the smoking and the symptom of the peripheral polyneuropathy among the diabetic patients.