The relationship of serum lipid profiles and obesity with the severity of carpal tunnel syndrome

Abstract

Introduction Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a prominent compressive neuropathy. There are a number of risk factors for creating CTS but the effect of these factors on the severity of CTS is unclear. In this study, we aimed to assess the correlation of serum lipid profile and obesity with the severity of CTS. Methods this cross-sectional study was conducted on 118 patients with idiopathic CTS. Blood samples were obtained for determining the serum levels of total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C), and high-density lipoprotein (HDL-C) after 12 hours of overnight fasting. The participants were then divided into two groups of normal and abnormal serum lipids. Body mass index ≥ 30 kg/m 2 was considered as obesity. The severity of CTS was determined based on the electrophysiological results and Boston CTS Questionnaire (BCTSQ) that evaluates symptoms severity (SSS) and functional status (FSS) of patients. Results out of 118 participants, 108 patients performed lipid profile test that 41.17%, 50.42%, 25.21%, and 20.16% of them had TC ≥ 200, TG ≥ 150, LDL-C ≥ 130, and HDL-C < 60 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl), respectively. The mean scores of SSS in patients with dyslipidemia including the high level of TC, TG, LDL-C, and low level of LDL-C were 34.59±7.86, 34.05±8.73, 34.93±8.21, and 33.48±7.56, respectively. There was no significant association between lipid profile and the symptom severity scale of CTS (p-value > 0.05). The mean BMI of participants was 31.35±5.35 kg/m 2 , and 58.5% of them had a BMI ≥ 30 kg/m 2 . The mean score of SSS and FSS was 33.18±8.24 and 24.43±7.12 in obese patients (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m 2 ), and was 34.06±7.85 and 23.06±7.67 in patients with BMI < 30 kg/m 2 . We found no significant association between obesity with the SSS and FSS (p-value = 0.53 and 0.32, respectively). In terms of the relationship between electrophysiological grading with obesity, 44 (63.8%) of patients with BMI ≥ 30 kg/m 2 and 22 (45.8%) patients with BMI < 30 kg/m 2 had severe to extreme severe CTS. There was no significant association between obesity and the severity of CTS (p-value = 0.054). Conclusion the results of this study did not demonstrate an association between serum lipid profile and obesity with the severity of carpal tunnel syndrome. The findings of this study may not be extrapolated to other populations. Further studies with more samples are needed to investigate this association.

Assessment of the Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in Female Patients With Hypothyroidism

“…In the more advanced stages, weakness and atrophy of the muscles of the thenar developed that in sequence causes the inability to accomplish activities (Stevens et al, 1992). The syndrome is diagnosed according to clinical symptoms, physical examination, and electrodiagnostic tests (Karimi et al, 2021;Razavi et al, 2021). There are several risk factors involved in causing this syndrome that comprises age, obesity, Diabetic Mellitus, rheumatoid arthritis, smoking, pregnancy, hypothyroidism, congenital anomalies and wrist injury (Karimi et al, 2017;Moghtaderi et al, 2005).…”