Diabetes mellitus is an independent risk factor for falling, particularly in the elderly. Due to chronic hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia patients with diabetes mellitus may have neurological deficits such as peripheral neuropathy which is a debilitating micro-vascular complication affecting the proximal and distal peripheral sensory and motor nerves. Sensory neuropathy is prominent and represents the chief contributor to postural instability in diabetic subjects. Diabetic retinopathy is another complication consequent to a breakdown of the inner blood-retinal barrier with an accumulation of extracellular fluids in the macula and the growth of new vessels causing retinal detachment. Together peripheral neuropathy and retinopathy contribute to an increase in the risk of falls in diabetic patients, but a certain vestibular organ impairment should not be underestimated. In a study carried out by Li J et al and published in Journal of Clinical Otorhinolaryngology, Head, and Neck Surgery, 01 Jan 2008. The goal was to study the changes of vestibular function in patients with diabetes mellitus and its clinical significance. The result shows the rate of vestibular dysfunction in patients with diabetes mellitus was 68.4%. and that of the controls were 8.3%. The study further concluded that vertigo or dizziness that occurred in patients with diabetes mellitus might be related to vestibular dysfunction. You Don’t Have to Live With It. Do not be carried away by the myth, that feeling dizzy is part of getting old.
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