Diabetic neuropathy a major expense for employers

According to a new study, diabetic neuropathy costs a fortune to employers due to time missed from work. The study finds that neuropathy-related symptoms, including numbness in the toes and fingers, loses valuable productive time, to the extent of 1.4 hours per week per employee. This apparently costs some $3.65 billion per annum.
A press release from EurekAlert revealed that diabetics with the symptoms of neuropathy lost more than twice as much working time as diabetics without the symptoms. Individuals who have diabetes are considerably more likely to be unemployed or face redundancy .
The research investigated almost 20,000 adults who were employed. Just over 1000 were suffering from diabetes. 38 per cent of these diabetics reported symptoms of diabetic neuropathy. Diabetics apparently faced double the risk of being unemployed.