Body mass index and carpal tunnel syndrome: A case-control study

To investigate the electrophysiological characteristics of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) and to evaluate the relationship between electrophysiological indexes and body mass index (BMI). In the analysis of 153 hospitalized patients with CTS, the median motor conduction velocity, motor conduction amplitude, motor conduction latency, sensor conduction velocity, sensor conduction amplitude and median sensory latency were analyzed. BMI was calculated. Total 171 healthy individuals were selected as control group. According to Guidelines for Prevention and Control of Overweight and Obesity in Chinese Adults, patients were divided into groups A, B and C. Patients with BMI (kg/m2) <24 were classified into group A; those with 24 ≤ BMI < 28 were regarded as overweight and classified into group B; and those with BMI ≥ 28 were regarded as obese and classified into group C. The BMI of CTS patients was significantly higher than that of healthy individuals (P < .05). For the sensory nerve, with the increase of BMI, the incubation period was gradually prolonged and the conduction velocity gradually decreases (P < .05). In terms of motor latency, with an increase in BMI, the latency showed a trend of first decreasing and then increasing, while the conduction velocity showed a trend of first increasing and then decreasing (P < .05). Electrophysiological examination plays an important supporting role in the diagnosis of CTS. BMI is positively correlated with the degree of CTS injury to a certain extent. Weight loss can effectively prevent the occurrence of CTS and slow the progression of nerve damage in CTS patients.