Etiology, Epidemiology, and Disparities in the Burden of Diabetic Foot Ulcers

🤖 Plain-English Summary

Diabetic foot ulcers (DFU) are a major source of preventable morbidity in adults with diabetes. Prevention and early detection of DFU through guideline-directed multidisciplinary care is critical to decrease the morbidity and disparities associated with DFU.

🔑 Key Findings

• Consequences of foot ulcers include decline in functional status, infection, hospitalization, lower-extremity amputation, and death.
• The lifetime risk of foot ulcer is 19% to 34%, and this number is rising with increased longevity and medical complexity of people with diabetes.
• Morbidity following incident ulceration is high, with recurrence rates of 65% at 3-5 years, lifetime lower-extremity amputation incidence of 20%, and 5-year mortality of 50-70%.

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