Prevalence of diabetic foot syndrome and its risk factors in the UK

Objective: To determine the prevalence of diabetic foot syndrome (DFS) and its risk factors (diabetic neuropathy, peripheral vascular disease, open wounds and mycoses of the feet) at GP practices in the UK in 2008. Method: We searched the IMS Disease Analyzer database, which stores representative information on approximately 4.2 million patients. All documented diagnoses of diabetes mellitus in 2008, based on either ICD-10 (international classification of diseases) codes or free text comments from doctors, were analysed. Results: Data from 34,198 patients with type 2 diabetes (47.1% female, mean age 66.1 years [SD 15.1], mean diabetes duration 7.4 years [SD 5.1]) and 2,576 patients with type 1 diabetes (43.2% female, mean age 39.2 years [SD: 18.0], diabetes duration 11.0 years [SD: 6.1]) were analysed. DFS was registered in 7.6% (95% CI: 6.6-8.6) of patients with type 1 diabetes and 8.5% (95% CI: 8.2-8.8) with type 2 diabetes. Many more patients were at high risk of developing DFS, with diabetic neuropathy, diabetic angiopathy, foot mycoses and/or open wounds of the feet. Conclusion: Results from this analysis of one of the large representative databases show that even though the prevalence of DFS among patients with diabetes mellitus is relatively low, the prevalence of its main risk factors is high. Preventive efforts should target these risk factors.