The number of people experiencing numbness, tingling and pain in their feet with no known cause has been increasing over the last two decades, according at a new study published in the October 27, 2021, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Called small fiber neuropathy, the condition has different symptoms than large fiber neuropathy, which can cause weakness and balance issues. But in many cases people have both types of neuropathy.

For the study, researchers looked at records for everyone diagnosed with small fiber neuropathy in Olmsted County, Minn., and the adjacent counties during a 20-year period. They then compared those 94 people with 282 people of similar age and sex who did not have neuropathy. Participants were followed for an average of six years.

The study found that the condition occurred in 13.3 per 100,000 people, with the rate increasing during the study.

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