Hand function among persons with type 2 diabetes mellitus in southern India: An observational study

BACKGROUND: Hand function is a crucial element in conducting activities of daily living in persons with Diabetes Mellitus (DM). The functional use of hands is different among various socio-cultural backgrounds which may influence the functional impairments. The functional impairments of hands among persons with DM in southern India are not explored to that extent. AIM: The aim of the study was to explore the hand functions among persons with DM in southern India. METHODS: This observational study was conducted on 70 persons with DM, and 70 age matched healthy controls from both community dwelling and institutionalized population, recruited based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. All subjects were evaluated for the hand muscle grip and pinch strength, fine and gross dexterity and function with hand grip dynamometer, pinch gauge, nine-hole peg test, box and block test and cochin hand function scale respectively. The statistical analysis of the results was performed with SPSS Software (SPSS.20). RESULTS: This study revealed significant decline in dominant hand muscle grip strength (p=0.02), lateral pinch strength (p=0.04), tip to tip pinch strength (p=0.04), pad to pad pinch strength (p=0.03), hand fine dexterity (p=0.03), gross dexterity (p=0.05) among persons with DM using unpaired t test with significance level at p≤0.05.  The hand function (p=0.32) evaluation did not report significant variation. CONCLUSION: This study points towards the need for screening diabetic hand for early detection of functional impairments among persons with DM. Effective interventions need to be implemented to prevent deterioration in hand function. Keywords: Hand strength, pinch strength, hand function, diabetes complications, type 2 diabetes mellitus