Investigating the Effect of Diabetes on the Incidence of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) has garnered attention in previous research for its potential association with diabetes mellitus. It has been suggested that CTS may occur more frequently in individuals with diabetes, and this connection might be influenced by factors such as the duration of diabetes, microvascular complications, and the level of glycaemic control. The primary objective of this study was to investigate whether Type 2 diabetes could be conclusively identified as a bona fide risk factor for the development of carpal tunnel syndrome, even after accounting for potential confounding variables. This retrospective case-control study harnessed data sourced from electronic patient records at Tabriz university of medical scenes. We focused on patients who received a diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome within the timeframe spanning from January 2011 to July 2012. This cohort was then compared to a control group comprising patients diagnosed with herniated nucleus pulposus. We observed that the prevalence of Type 2 diabetes was higher among patients with carpal tunnel syndrome, accounting for 11.5% of this group, compared to 7.2% in the control group (Odds Ratio 1.67, with a 95% confidence interval ranging from 1.16 to 2.41). However, after conducting multivariate analyses while adjusting for gender, age, and body mass index, Type 2 diabetes did not emerge as a statistically significant, independent risk factor for carpal tunnel syndrome (Odds Ratio 0.99, with a 95% CI spanning from 0.66 to 1.47). Although our study revealed a higher prevalence of Type 2 diabetes among individuals with carpal tunnel syndrome, this condition could not be unequivocally identified as an independent risk factor for the development of carpal tunnel syndrome when adjusting for potential confounding variables. These findings suggest that other factors may play a more prominent role in the onset of carpal tunnel syndrome, and further research is warranted to explore these associations in greater detail.