Frequency of Diabetes Foot Ulcer and Related Factors Among Adult Diabetic Patients in the Diabetes Center of Kerman, Iran

Abstract

Background: Diabetic Foot Ulcer (DFU) as one of the main complications of diabetes mellitus has serious outcomes such as infection, foot amputation, low quality of life, and premature death. Objectives: This study was conducted to assess the DFU prevalence and its related factors among diabetic patients. Methods: The population of this cross-sectional study included adult diabetic patients in the Diabetes Center of Kerman University of Medical Sciences. The data were recorded in a questionnaire using patients' medical records, interviews with them, and physical examination. The collected data were imported to SPSS version 22 software and analyzed. Results: Of 400 diabetic patients enrolled in the study, 69% (n = 276) were female. The mean (± SD) of their age was 57.1 (± 11.9) years and 72% (n = 288) were younger than 65. The frequency of DFU during the total course of the disease and its annual prevalence were 17.3% (n = 69) and 11.8% (n = 49) among diabetic patients, respectively. More than one-third (37.7%) of the DFU patients and 6.6% of all the patients were admitted to a hospital due to DFU. Major or minor amputation was performed for 14.5% (n = 10) of the total DFU patients and 2.5% of the total patients. Having diabetes-related complications was determined as the strongest predictor of DFU (OR = 7.016, 95% CI = 2.67-18.38), followed by smoking (OR = 3. 80, 95% CI = 2.06-6.99) and age over 64 years (OR = 3.70, 95% CI = 1.299-10.568). Conclusions: The frequency of DFU was high among diabetic patients attending the Diabetes Center of Kerman University of Medical Sciences. Also, hospital admission and foot amputation due to DFU had a considerable frequency. Therefore, there is a crucial need to improve the quality of foot care services and emphasize foot self-care as essential components of diabetes self-management at all levels of the health service delivery system to decrease the risk of DFU.