Does gender have a significant effect on normal nerve conduction studies values?

Abstract

Background: nerve conduction study (NCS) is a neurophysiologic medical diagnostic test used commonly to evaluate the function of the peripheral nerves. It is an extension to the clinical examination and extremely useful to diagnose and document a peripheral nerve disorder, localize the lesion, and to establish underlying pathophysiology. Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate the influence of gender on nerve conduction study values and to generate reference nerve conduction studies (NCS) data for the commonly tested nerves among healthy adults in Oman. Subjects and methods: This study was conducted in the Neurology Department at the Royal Hospital, a tertiary care hospital in Muscat-Oman, for a period of four years (from March 2015 until May 2019) which included a total of 143 (80 females and 63 males) healthy Omani subjects. Sensory and motor nerve conduction studies were performed to the Median, Ulnar, Peroneal and Tibial nerves to establish the normative data. Statistical analysis was performed using Minitab comparing the mean values of all NCS parameters for both genders. Results: Gender comparison concluded that Omani males have longer distal motor latencies for all of the tested nerves and slower motor conduction velocities for the lower limbs’ nerves (p <0.005) than the females. While sensory latencies were significantly delayed in males as compared to Omani females for the upper limbs’ nerves and the ensory nerve potential amplitudes in the upper limbs were greater in females (p<0.0001) than males. A normative data for distal latencies, conduction velocities and responses amplitudes for motor and sensory nerves were sat up for the first time for normal adult Omani population. Conclusion: Gender has a significant influence on distal latencies and conduction velocities of some peripheral nerves in healthy Omani adult subjects, suggesting that different cut-off values for the two genders may be needed for interpreting such studies. These differences could be related to anatomical (height and limbs’ length gender differences) and/or physiological factors. Our normative data for nerve conduction study values are comparable to other published studies in the literature.