Diabetic Foot Ulcers: Prevalence and Associated Risk Factors Among Diabetic Patients

Diabetes Mellitus, a complex disease, chronic in nature; requires uninterrupted care to reduce various risk factors beyond glycemic control. Objective: To find out prevalence of foot ulcers among diabetic patients and identification of risk factors that can lead to the development of ulcers among diabetic patients attending the tertiary care centers of Faisalabad. Methods: A cross sectional survey was conducted on 500 diabetic patients attending the diabetic clinics. Subjects were identified using non-probable convenient sampling and data was collected by using structured questionnaire. Associated risk factors of diabetic foot ulcers were all assessed. Using SPSS version 23.0 for windows software, data were managed and analyzed. Results: There were n=239 males and n=261 females. Most of the patients were in the age group of 61-70. Major population belonged to middle socio-economic status (46.2%). Diabetic foot ulcer prevalence was 10.4%. There was significant association between ulcer and age (p=.036), gender (p<.001), lifestyle of patient (p=.003), BMI of Patient (p=.001), smoking habits (p<.001), duration of diabetes (p<.001), and family history of diabetes (p<.001). Conclusions: The study concluded that 10.4% of diabetic patients had foot ulcers. Diabetic foot ulceration was significantly related with male gender. It is thus recommended that diabetic care providers can reduce the prevalence of diabetic foot ulcers by increasing understanding of the disease and foot care examination among those having sensory loss.