Authors: Baba,M.;Foley,L.;Davis,W. A.;Davis,T. M.

Publication: Diabetic medicine : a journal of the British Diabetic Association

Year: 2014

Volume: 31

Issue: 11

Start Page: 1439

ABSTRACT:

AIMS: To determine self-awareness of diabetes-related foot problems and its associates in a community-based cohort of people with Type 2 diabetes.

METHODS: A survey concerning diabetic foot problems was administered to 358 consecutive patients with Type 2 diabetes [mean +/- SD age 67.4 +/- 10.8 years, 56.1% males, median (interquartile range) diabetes duration 9.0 (3.9-16.8) years] attending for detailed clinical, biochemical and questionnaire assessment as part of the longitudinal observational Fremantle Diabetes Study Phase II.

RESULTS: Compared with the 213 patients (59.5%) who considered their feet to be normal, the 145 (40.5%) who considered their feet to be abnormal were older, had longer diabetes duration and were more likely to have sensory neuropathic symptoms and self-reported poor circulation (P 2/8 on the Michigan Neuropathy Screening Instrument clinical portion), 9.9% had an ankle-brachial index < 0.9, 6.1% had both peripheral sensory neuropathy and an ankle-brachial index < 0.90, and 86.9% had one or more features on inspection, such as deformity, dry skin, callus and fissures that could facilitate more serious complications, despite the majority having had at least one foot examination by a healthcare professional in the previous year.

CONCLUSIONS: Self-assessment of diabetes-related foot problems by patients in the Fremantle Diabetes Study Phase II was unreliable. The present data suggest that self-perceived foot health should be assessed together with foot examination findings. Intensive education and monitoring may be necessary in those who consider their feet to be normal but who have neurovascular, structural and/or other precursors of serious foot pathology.

• Listing ID: 4606
• Author/s: Baba,M.;Foley,L.;Davis,W. A.;Davis,T. M.
• Publication: Diabetic medicine : a journal of the British Diabetic Association
• Year: 2014
• Volume: 31
• Issue: 11
• Start Page: 1439
• Article Keywords: Aged;Ankle Brachial Index;Cohort Studies;Combined Modality Therapy;Cross-Sectional Studies;Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/complications/therapy;Diabetic Foot/diagnosis/epidemiology/physiopathology;Diagnostic Self Evaluation;Female;Humans;Longitudinal Studies;Male;Middle Aged;Neuritis/complications/epidemiology/physiopathology;Peripheral Nervous System Diseases/complications/epidemiology/physiopathology;Prevalence;Risk;Severity of Illness Index;Surveys and Questionnaires;Western Australia/epidemiology