The association of peripheral neuropathy detected by monofilament testing with risk of falls and fractures in older adults

In persons with diabetes, annual screening for peripheral neuropathy (PN) using monofilament testing is the standard of care. However, PN detected by monofilament testing is common in older adults, even in the absence of diabetes. We aimed to assess the association of PN with risk of falls and fractures in older adults. We included participants in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study who underwent monofilament testing at visit 6 (2016-2017). Incident falls and fractures were identified based on ICD-9 and ICD-10 codes from active surveillance of all hospitalizations and linkage to Medicare claims. We used Cox models to assess the association of PN with falls and fractures (combined and as separate outcomes) after adjusting for demographics and risk factors for falls. There were 3617 ARIC participants (mean age 79.4 [SD 4.7] years, 40.8% male, and 21.4% Black adults), of whom 1242 (34.3%) had PN based on monofilament testing. During a median follow-up of 2.5 years, 371 participants had a documented fall, and 475 participants had a documented fracture. The incidence rate (per 1000 person-years) for falls or fractures for participants with PN versus those without PN was 111.1 versus 74.3 (p