Effect of obesity on median nerve conduction at carpal tunnel level in Indian women

Background: Nerve conduction study (NCS) is essential in the diagnosis of focal neuropathies and diffuse polyneuropathies. There are many reasons of variations in nerve conduction velocity (NCV). Age, height, and body mass index (BMI) can affect NCVs, as reported by previous studies. It has been documented that obesity affects NCV. Aims & Objective: In this study, we tried to find the effect of obesity on median nerve conduction at carpal tunnel area in healthy Indian women. Materials and Methods: Women with age group between 25 and 64 years with BMI 25 were divided into non-obese and obese groups, respectively. Wrist ratio and wrist/palm ratio were measured. NCS was carried out for median and ulnar nerves on bilateral hands. Ulnar nerve study was carried out to rule out peripheral neuropathy. Results: The differences in distal motor and sensory latencies between obese and non-obese groups were found to be statistically significant (P < 0.05). There was statistically significant difference in wrist ratio between the two groups; however, there was no statistically significant difference in wrist/palm ratio. Conclusion: It can be concluded that obesity causes increase in sensory and motor latency of median nerve at carpal tunnel area in women. Increased wrist ratio is also an independent risk factor in delayed median nerve conduction.