Peripheral Neuropathy in Older People Is Associated with Reduced Life Expectancy

Conclusions: In this relatively healthy cohort of older primary care patients, PN detectable by physical examination was extremely common and strongly associated with earlier mortality. One possible mechanism involves loss of balance, though our data were insufficient to determine whether poor balance led to injurious falls or to less-specific declines in health. These findings may warrant further studies to determine the causes of age-associated PN and potential impact of early detection and balance improvement and other fall prevention strategies.
Source: Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine - Category: Primary Care Authors: Tags: Original Research Source Type: research