Faculty Collaboration Database

Postural instability in patients with diabetic sensory neuropathy. Diabetes Care 1994 Dec;17(12):1411-21

Date

12/01/1994

Pubmed ID

7882810

DOI

10.2337/diacare.17.12.1411

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-0028035097 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   271 Citations

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Recent survey evidence suggests that sensory ataxia due to diabetic neuropathy may be a more frequent and serious problem than is commonly recognized. This view is further supported by research that confirms the major contribution of the somatosensory system to the control of posture. We therefore sought to determine the effects of significant diabetic distal symmetrical polyneuropathy on the control of posture.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Fifty-one subjects, divided into three groups, participated in this study. Seventeen had diabetes and significant sensory neuropathy, 17 had diabetes and no neuropathy, and 17 had neither diabetes nor neuropathy. The subjects were matched across groups, and stringent exclusion criteria were applied. Postural stability during quiet standing was measured using a force platform. In addition to electrophysiological and quantitative sensory tests of neuropathy, a number of physical and functional characteristics were measured for all subjects.

RESULTS: Postural instability was found to be significantly associated with sensory neuropathy, but not with diabetes per se. Patients with sensory neuropathy demonstrated between 66 and 117% more instability than did control subjects (depending on the testing condition). Based on multiple linear regression analyses, the most significant correlates of instability were the quantitative sensory measures of neuropathy and age.

CONCLUSIONS: The loss of sensory perception secondary to diabetic distal symmetrical sensory neuropathy has a markedly detrimental effect on postural stability. The deficit is greatest when visual or vestibular cues are absent or degraded. Patients with neuropathy need to be informed of the postural consequences of this condition to limit the potential morbidity caused by falls.

Author List

Simoneau GG, Ulbrecht JS, Derr JA, Becker MB, Cavanagh PR

Author

Guy Simoneau PhD Professor in the Physical Therapy department at Marquette University

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Aging
Analysis of Variance
Blood Glucose
Blood Pressure
Diabetes Mellitus
Diabetic Neuropathies
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Posture
Psychomotor Performance