Reproducibility of peroneal motor nerve conduction measurement in older adults

Objective: While neuropathy is common in the elderly, nerve conduction (NC) reproducibility in older adults is not well-established. We sought to evaluate intraobserver reproducibility of peroneal motor NC measures in a diverse sample of older adults. Methods: We measured peroneal motor NC amplitude and velocity in a subset of participants (mean age. = 82.9 ±. 2.7, n= 62, 50% female, 51.6% black, 35.5% DM) in the Health, Aging, and Body Composition Study. Using coefficients of variation (CVs), intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs), and Bland Altman Plots, we compared two sets of measurements taken by the same examiner hours apart on the same day. Results: Low CVs (2.15-4.24%) and moderate to high ICCs (0.75-0.99) were observed. No systematic variation was found across measures. Despite small numbers in some subgroups, we found no differences in reproducibility by diabetes, race or study site. Conclusion: NC measures have moderate to high intraobsever reproducibility in older adults and are not affected by diabetes, race, or gender. Significance: These data provide evidence to support use of these measures in aging research. © 2012 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology.