Year: 2026 | Month: June | Volume: 16 | Issue: 6 | Pages: 100-107
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52403/ijhsr.20260611
Assessment of the Effect of Duration of Diabetes Mellitus on Dominant and Non -Dominant Hand Dexterity
Mumtaz Gowhar1, Sadaf2, Nabeela3*
1Associate Professor, Department of Physiology SKIMS-MCH Bemina, Srinagar, J&K, India
2Senior Resident, Department of Physiology, GMC Jammu, India
3Senior Resident, Department of Physiology, SKIMS-MCH Bemina, Srinagar, J&K, India
Corresponding Author: Nabeela
ABSTRACT
Background: Diabetes is a deadly disease, which is known to affect the multiple organs, and its long-term effects extend beyond the commonly recognized complications. Changes involving peripheral nerves, sensation and eventually motor control may interfere with hand movements, making everyday tasks more difficult. Whether these changes become more evident with increasing duration of diabetes remains an area of interest. The present study examines differences in dominant and non-dominant hand dexterity across varying durations of diabetes and determines the relationship between disease duration and hand performance.
Material and Methods: The data of 240 adult patients with DM were collected and analysed retrospectively from January 2024 to December 2025. The Nine-Hole Peg Test was used to assess dexterity and the time taken to complete the task was recorded in seconds for each hand. Based on disease duration, patients were grouped into <5 years (n=72), 5–10 years (n=68), 11–15 years (n=54), and >15 years (n=46). One way ANOVA and Tukey's post hoc were used to determine differences between groups. To investigate the relationship between diabetes duration and dexterity time, the Pearson's correlation coefficient analysis was used.
Results: We observed that completion times increased significantly and steadily as the disease duration increased. For the dominant hand, the mean dexterity time rose from 18.9 ± 2.8 seconds in patients with diabetes duration below 5 years to 25.4 ± 4.1 seconds among those with duration above15 years (F=41.62, p<0.001). Non-dominant hand performance followed a similar pattern, increasing from 20.1 ± 3.0 seconds to 28.2 ± 4.5 seconds (F=53.84, p<0.001). All pair-wise comparisons for disease duration revealed a significant. Diabetes duration correlated positively with dexterity time for both the dominant (r=0.584, p<0.001) and non-dominant hands (r=0.669, p<0.001).
Conclusion: Hand dexterity worsened with increasing duration of diabetes and the association was stronger for the non-dominant hand, indicating greater impairment with longstanding disease.
Key words: Diabetes mellitus, disease duration, hand dexterity, Nine-Hole Peg Test, dominant hand, non-dominant hand