Table 3.
Nerve cross-sectional area reference values with respect to ethnicity
| Demographic | Ethnicity, mean±SD (mm2) | P | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| |||||
| Malay | Chinese | Indian | |||
| Age, years | 39.7±12.7 | 41.2±16.3 | 39.0±14.4 | 0.847 | |
| Height, m | 1.6±0.1 | 1.6±0.1 | 1.7±0.1 | 0.107 | |
| Weight, kg | 66.1±14.3 | 60.1±14.6 | 68.0±13.1 | 0.102 | |
| BMI, kg/m2 | 25.5*±5.3 | 22.4*±4.5 | 24.7±4.0 | 0.046 | |
| Gender (female:male) | 16:13 | 15:13 | 15:12 | 0.988 | |
|
| |||||
| Nerve | Site | Ethnicity, mean±SD (mm2) | P | ||
|
| |||||
| Malay | Chinese | Indian | |||
|
| |||||
| Median | Wrist | 6.6±1.9 | 6.5±1.3 | 6.0±0.9 | 0.324 |
| Mid-forearm | 5.4±1.0 | 5.1±0.9 | 5.0±0.9 | 0.283 | |
| Elbow | 6.7±1.3 | 6.9±1.6 | 6.8±1.7 | 0.916 | |
| Midarm | 7.0±1.2 | 7.0±1.6 | 7.1±1.3 | 0.953 | |
| Ulnar | Wrist | 4.2±1.1 | 3.9±1.1 | 3.9±0.9 | 0.458 |
| Mid-forearm | 5.0*±1.2 | 4.4±1.0 | 4.2*±0.8 | 0.008 | |
| Elbow | 5.9±1.5 | 6.6±1.3 | 5.9±1.2 | 0.075 | |
| Midarm | 5.8±1.7 | 5.5±1.2 | 5.4±1.6 | 0.619 | |
| Fibular | Fibular head | 9.0±2.3 | 8.6±1.8 | 9.0±1.9 | 0.653 |
| Knee | 7.7±1.8 | 7.5±1.9 | 7.2±1.6 | 0.514 | |
| Tibial | Knee | 11.8±2.3 | 11.5±2.1 | 12.1±2.2 | 0.592 |
| Ankle | 10.1±2.1 | 10.6±1.7 | 9.6±1.9 | 0.202 | |
| Sural | 1.7*,†±0.7 | 1.4*±0.5 | 1.3†±0.5 | 0.006 | |
| Radial | 1.2*±0.4 | 1.0*±0.2 | 1.1±0.3 | 0.038 | |
*,†Significant difference. SD: Standard deviation, BMI: Body mass index