The Effect of Physical Activity, Neuropathy, and Gender on People with Diabetes on Balance: A Cross-sectional Study

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the mostcommonchronic non-communicable diseases (NCD).

The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between demographic and clinical data with balance impairments in people with diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN), considering the importance of early detection of balance impairments in this population.

Forty-three patients with DPN were evaluated in this cross-sectional study. Age, disease duration, height, weight, and physical activity, along with blood sugar samples and neuropathy disability scores were collected to explore correlations with the balance evaluation system test (BESTest) inthis population.

A significant weak to moderatecorrelations was found between physical activity (p-value=0.046/ CC= 0.286),severity of neuropathy (p-value=0.025/ CC= -0.317), and gender (p-value=0.032/ CC= -0.311) with BESTest, using multivariate linear regression analysis.

It is recommended that diabetic patients with a sedentary lifestyle, more severe scores on neuropathy screening instruments, and female patients be referred for early screening of balance disorders regardless of age and disease duration. Also, increasing physical activity to prevent balance impairments in the future can be recommended.