Diabetes and Foot Complications
How is diabetes related to the foot?
- High blood sugar in diabetes can damage the nerves and arteries. The nerve damage is called neuropathy and the damage of the arteries is called peripheral arterial disease (PAD).
- These two conditions make it easy to get foot infections that are difficult and long time to heal. If not healed, amputation maybe required to save life.
About Diabetes and Foot Complications
You are not alone!
- 9.4 % of the US population has diabetes. These numbers are even higher for Hispanics, African Americans and Asians. There are also undiagnosed diabetics and they don’t even know if they have diabetes. As you can see, diabetes is a silent killer.
- Diabetic foot ulcers and infections are estimated to occur in up to 25% of diabetics. And once you develop foot ulcers and infection,14 -24% of diabetics with foot ulcers will require amputations.
- Annual incremental healthcare cost ranged from $11.710 to $ 16,883 per patient with foot ulcer in addition to the costs associates with diabetes itself.
- DFU (diabetic Foot Ulcers) requires more days hospitalized, more days requiring home healthcare, more emergency room visits, more physician visits and more visits to wound care centers.
- Total economic benefits were highest for patient educational intervention.
Ref: Prevention & early intervention for Diabetes Foot Problems
www.ndep.nih.gov/media/feet_hcguide.pdf
Huge Burden of Foot Ulcers Double Diabetes Costs in US
Medscape Medical News, March 13, 2014