Nerve Conduction among Middle-aged Indian Diabetic Males without Clinical Neurodeficit: A Cross-sectional Study
Year: 2025
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Introduction: Peripheral neuropathy is one of the dreaded complications of diabetes mellitus. Data pertaining to subclinical neuropathies among diabetics are deficient, especially in the Indian context. Aim: The aim of this study is to evaluate the Nerve Conduction Study (NCS) parameters in middle-aged Indian males with diabetes who do not exhibit any clinical neurodeficits, and to compare the findings with age-matched, non diabetic healthy controls. The present study also explores the correlations between NCS parameters and glycaemic control (HbA1c) in the study population. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at IPGME&R Kolkata, West Bengal, India from February 2021 to July 2022. A total of 165 diabetic males without any neurological symptoms and 54 age-matched non diabetic controls were included in this study. Onset latencies, amplitudes, and conduction velocities of the median, ulnar, tibial, peroneal, and sural nerves were compared between the groups using an unpaired Student’s t-test. The correlation between NCS parameters and HbA1c levels among diabetics was checked using the Pearson correlation coefficient. A p-value of <0.05 was considered significant. Results: In the present study, 165 diabetic individuals and 54 non diabetic controls were included. When comparing the nerve conduction parameters, the diabetic individuals showed significant delays in sensory and motor nerve conduction across all peripheral nerves examined. For instance, the conduction velocities (m/s) of the motor and sensory components of the median nerve were found to be 56.73±4.96 and 65.85±9.84 in the non diabetic controls, whereas they were 53.71±7.23 and 59.71±11.87 in the diabetic patients (p<0.05 in each case). Except for the motor amplitudes of the tibial and ulnar nerves, all other peripheral nerves in both the upper and lower limbs showed significantly higher amplitudes of motor and sensory action potentials among the non diabetic controls. HbA1c was found to have significant positive correlations with NCS parameters, including the motor onset latencies of the median, ulnar, tibial, and peroneal nerves, as well as the sensory onset latencies of the median, ulnar, and sural nerves. Conclusion: Peripheral neuronal conduction is affected in diabetic patients even before any neurological symptoms appear, and the degree of neurodeficit is dependent on glycaemic control.
Authors: Andrevich Saha, Piyali Das, Sujoy Ghosh
Language: English
Topic: Peripheral Nerve Disorders
Subfield: Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $275
OpenAlex ID: W4414034789