Objective: To determine whether there is a difference in nerve conduction studies depend on the body mass index (BMI) of subjects

Method: Twenty normal healthy volunteers were enrolled for the study. A routine usual sensory and motor nerve conduction study and a sensory nerve conduction study using the near nerve needle technique were performed. BMI was calculated as weight (kg) divided by height (m) squared. In order to evaluate the effect of BMI on the various measurements of the nerve conduction study, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used.

Results: The sensory nerve amplitudes of median, ulnar and sural nerves correlated significantly (p＜0.05) with BMI. However, no correlation was noted between BMI and sensory nerve amplitude by near nerve needle technique. There was no statistical differences noted in the measurements of latency of examined motor and sensory nerves neither the velocity of examined motor nerves.

Conclusion: In clinical practice, the effect of BMI should be taken into account when the interpretation of abnormal sensory nerve study has to be soli. (J Korean Acad Rehab Med 2002; 26: 316-320)

Keywords :Nerve conduction studies, Obesity, Body mass index, Near nerve needle technique