Nerve Conduction Study in Healthy Elderly Subjects in Central India: A Cross-Sectional Study

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Neurophysiology
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Aging is associated with physiological changes, including muscle function alterations and reduced nerve conduction velocity (NCV).
• Understanding these changes is crucial for assessing neurological health in the elderly population.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of physiological factors (gender, height, BMI) on motor and sensory nerve conduction studies (NCS) in healthy elderly individuals.
• To establish normative data for NCS in central Indian elderly subjects.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study involving 382 healthy participants aged 60+ in central India.
• Nerve conduction studies (NCS) were performed using a Neuron Spectrum 5 machine.
• Data analysis utilized Microsoft Excel and IBM SPSS Statistics.

Main Results:

• NCS parameters were generally higher in males than females.
• Advancing age and increasing height correlated with longer distal motor latency (DML), longer F-wave minimum latency, decreased amplitude, and slower conduction velocity (CV).
• Higher Body Mass Index (BMI) was associated with reduced amplitudes and slower CVs.

Conclusions:

• Age and height negatively influence NCS amplitudes and conduction velocities (CV).
• Height positively influences distal motor latency (DML) and F-wave minimum latency.
• Higher BMI negatively impacts NCS amplitudes and CVs.