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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2018 Jun 1.
Published in final edited form as: Lancet Neurol. 2017 Jun;16(6):465–477. doi: 10.1016/S1474-4422(17)30084-4

Table 2.

Clinical studies suggesting an association between obesity and polyneuropathy

Study/Population Size Aim Method Observations Ref.
Utah Study; Utah, USA 219 Identify whether MetS features other than hyperglycemia increase polyneuropathy risk Clinical diagnosis and nerve conduction studies/skin biopsy for measurement of epidermal nerve fiber density to confirm when necessary Lipid abnormalities observed in patients with polyneuropathy 80
PROMISE Study; Toronto, Ontario, Canada 467 Determine the association of MetS components with polyneuropathy risk Vibration perception thresholds to measure nerve dysfunction; MNSI to establish polyneuropathy Increased waist circumference confers greater neuropathy risk 79
MONICA/KORA Study; Augsburg, Germany 393 Identify risk factors for polyneuropathy in patients with IGT MNSI to establish polyneuropathy Waist circumference associated with polyneuropathy 77
SH-DREAMS Study; Shanghai, China 2,035 Identify risk factors for polyneuropathy in patients with IGT Foot examination/neuropathy symptom and neuropathy disability scores Waist circumference associated with polyneuropathy in non-diabetic patients 78
Health ABC; Pittsburgh and Memphis, USA 2,382 Determine the association of MetS components with polyneuropathy Questionnaire plus at least one of three confirmatory tests (heavy monofilament, peroneal conduction velocity and vibration threshold) Waist circumference associated with polyneuropathy 75
EURODIAB; Europe 1,172 Identify risk factors for polyneuropathy in patients with type 1 diabetes Clinical evaluation, quantitative sensory testing, and autonomic-function testing Higher BMI, total cholesterol and vLDL cholesterol significantly associated with polyneuropathy 76

PROMISE - Prospective Metabolism and Islet Cell Evaluation; MONICA/KORA - Monitoring Trends and Determinants on Cardiovascular Diseases/Cooperative Research in the Region of Augsburg; SH-DREAMS - ShangHai Diabetic neuRopathy Epidemiology and Molecular Genetics Study; EURODIAB - European Diabetes Prospective Complications Study; Health ABC - Health, Aging, and Body Composition Study; MNSI - Michigan neuropathy screening instrument; MetS – Metabolic syndrome; vLDL - very low density lipoprotein; T1D - type 1 diabetes; IGT - impaired glucose tolerance