The role of hypertension and diabetes mellitus in the severity of gait and balance disturbances in iNPH

Background Idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) is a disorder characterized by gait and balance disturbances, urinary incontinence and cognitive impairment. Of these three, gait and balance disorders are often the first to manifest and also the group that improve the most after shunt surgery. Vascular risk factors (particularly hypertension and diabetes mellitus) has been shown to increase the risk of developing iNPH. There is however further need to investigate if these risk factors have any impact on the severity of symptoms and improvement after shunt surgery. The aim of this study is to examine the connection between hypertension, diabetes mellitus (DM) and the severity of gait and balance disturbances in patients diagnosed with iNPH preand postoperativley. The aim was also to determine if patients with risk factors present show less improvement in gait and balance after surgery compared to controls.