The effect of diabetes mellitus on the Two-Step value for gait ability

Kazuki Kimura; Hideki Ninomiya; Yoshiaki Endo; Yukio Kambayashi

doi:10.1002/agm2.12043

The effect of diabetes mellitus on the Two-Step value for gait ability

Aging Med (Milton). 2018 Nov 8;1(3):238-242. doi: 10.1002/agm2.12043. eCollection 2018 Dec.

Authors

Kazuki Kimura¹, Hideki Ninomiya², Yoshiaki Endo³, Yukio Kambayashi⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Rehabilitation Niigata University of Rehabilitation Murakami Japan.
² Department of Rehabilitation Chiba Chuo Medical Center Chiba Japan.
³ Department of Rehabilitation Shioya Hospital International University of Health and Welfare Yaita Japan.
⁴ Department of Rehabilitation Yoshinari Clinic Daigo Japan.

Abstract

Objective: Impaired glucose tolerance is a factor that can affect locomotive syndrome. This study aimed to elucidate the impact of diabetes mellitus (DM) on the value of the Two-Step Test as an index of gait ability in locomotive syndrome. The present study focused on DM patients who did not have diabetic polyneuropathy (DP) and discussed the effect of DM on the Two-Step value.

Methods: This cross-sectional study compared the Two-Step values between DM patients without DP (32 male, 28 female; mean age 62.2 years) and regional residents without DM (25 male, 18 female; mean age 61.8 years).

Results: Body mass index was significantly higher in the DM patients than in the regional residents. The Two-Step value was lower in DM patients than in individuals without DM among females but not among males. Therefore, the Two-Step value was lower in female DM patients than in female regional residents of the same age.

Conclusion: This study presents a new observation: The gait ability in female DM patients can be impaired, even before the development of DP.

Keywords: aging; female diabetes mellitus patients; gait.