Influences of height and gender on normal nerve conduction studies

Our purpose was to examine the effects of gender on nerve conduction results in healthy subjects. Fifty-four men, mean age 60.2 years and mean height 167cm, were compared with 62 women, mean age 62.2 years and mean height 153cm. We studied median, ulnar, sural, peroneal, and tibial nerves. Analyzing the raw data, women had significantly faster conduction velocities than men for all nerves except median motor (p < 0.05) three of four sensory amplitudes were larger in women and two of four motor amplitudes were larger in men (p < 0.05). After adjustment of the data for height, most statistically significant differences in conduction velocity disappeared, although differences in amplitude persisted. We conclude that most gender differences in nerve conduction velocity can be largely explained by height, whereas amplitude differences persist despite correction for height, temperature, and age.