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There have been few detailed studies on the evolution of peripheral neuropathy in non-insulin-dependent diabetes (NIDDM). This Finnish study assessed the natural history of neuropathy over 10 years by comparing 132 patients newly diagnosed with NIDDM and 142 nondiabetic age-matched controls. In the NIDDM group, the prevalence of definite or probable neuropathy -- defined clinically and electrophysiologically -- was 8 percent at baseline and rose to 42 percent at 10 years. For the controls, these figures were 2 and 6 percent, respectively. Patients with NIDDM who developed neuropathy had higher mean fasting glucose levels and higher glycosylated hemoglobin levels at 5 and 10 years than those who did not develop neuropathy. Moreover, even aft…