Balance Assessment during Cognitive Dual Task Performance in Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy

Objective: Diabetes Mellitus results in an impairment of cognitive tasks. Few studies addressed the effect of cognitive –motor dual task in Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy patients. The purpose of this study was to assess the influence of cognitive dual task on balance, Comparisons between effect of the single-task and dual-task on balance and to implement cognitive dual tasking in balance rehabilitation in DPN patients. Subjects and Methods: This study is a cross section design included 60 female subjects distributed into 3 groups, GI included 20 patients with sensory DPN, GII included 20 patients with sensory-motor DPN and GIII included 20 healthy age-matched subjects participated in the present study. The age ranged from 50 to 60 years old. Subjects were assessed by Montereal Cognitive assessement (MoCA) and Biodex Balance system (BBS). The performance of patients and healthy subjects was compared on BBS, on mental task (verbal fluency) and when performing the mental task while balancing. Results: There was a significant decrease in MoCA in Group I & II. There was a significant increase in overall stability index (OVSI), antero-posterior stability index (APSI) and medio-lateral stability index (MLSI) at dual task compared with that at single task in group I and II (p 0.05). There was significant decrease in number of words at dual task compared with that at single task in the three groups (p < 0.001). Conclusion: This study is the first to demonstrate the effect of cognitive –motor dual task in DPN patients on balance and cognition. The results support the view that motor control is influenced by cognitive function. So it is important to implement cognitive training as postural control demands attention under certain circumstances.