Does Diabetes Mellitus Influence Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

Diabetes mellitus (DM) has been proposed as a risk factor for carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), but this remains controversial. We investigated the association between DM and CTS using both ultrasonography (US) and nerve conduction study (NCS) data.

We analyzed a prospectively recruited database of neuromuscular US and medical records of subjects who had undergone NCSs and electromyography for symptoms suggestive of CTS. Subjects were assigned to the follow groups: Group I, CTS with DM; Group II, CTS without DM; Group III, no CTS with DM; and Group IV, no CTS without DM. US cross-sectional area (CSA) and NCS measurements at the median nerve (MN) were compared among groups. We used a general linear mixed model to adjust for statistically significant covariates.

The 230 participants comprised 22, 83, 19, and 106 in Groups I-IV, respectively. In multivariate analyses, the MN action potential amplitude in females was the only variable that was significantly associated with DM (p<0.001). Groups with DM tended to have a longer latency, smaller amplitude, and lower conduction velocity in the NCSs compared to groups without DM. The measured US CSA values did not differ significantly among the groups.

NCS measurements of the MN tended to differ between DM and non-DM patients regardless of the presence or absence of CTS. However, US did not reveal any statistically significant relationship between CTS and DM.