Background Diabetic neuropathy is one of the complications of diabetes that occurs due to poor glycemic control. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels can increase when patients are first diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus and can change in response to glycemic control conditions throughout the course of the disease. However, the correlation between glycemic control and BDNF remains unclear. The objective of this study was to investigate whether glycemic control can predict the BDNF levels in patients with diabetic neuropathy, based on diabetic duration. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted on 8 patients with diabetic neuropathy who were treated at a clinic in Central Java. We use glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels as a parameter of glycemic control, which were measured according to the National Glycohemoglobin Standardization Program. BDNF serum levels were evaluated using the Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) method in the laboratory. Analysis was performed using ANCOVA tests. Results Together, HbA1c levels, diabetic duration, and interactions between diabetic duration and HbA1c explained 9.9% of variability in BDNF levels (p=0.046). However, HbA1c levels explained 8.1% of the variability in BDNF levels (p = 0.011), with only minor contributions from diabetic duration and interaction them. Conclusions The HbA1c levels significantly explained the variability in BDNF levels in patients with diabetic neuropathy regardless of diabetic duration.
