Factors associated with foot ulceration of people with diabetes mellitus living in rural areas.

Abstract

Objective To analyze the factors associated with the risk of ulceration in the feet of people with diabetes mellitus living in rural areas. Methods This is a cross-sectional study conducted with 293 individuals with diabetes mellitus, aged 40 years or older, living in the south of Brazil, in 2014. We analyzed socioeconomic variables, clinical conditions and foot self-care. We used the Poisson multiple regression model and the Prevalence Ratio (PR) and p-value<0.05 as a measure of association. Results 43.7% of the sample presented risk of foot ulceration. The highest prevalence of foot ulceration risk was associated with people with lower purchasing power (PRadjusted=1.62/IC95%:1.52-2.22), with retinopathy (PRadjusted=1.30/IC95%:1.12-1.68) and alteration in foot moisture (PRadjusted=1.57/IC95%:1.22-2.01). We identified low education level (64.2%), high prevalence of arterial hypertension (86.3%) and onychomycosis in the feet (72%). Conclusions Diabetic patients need an assessment of the risk of foot ulceration, especially those with longer diagnosis, chronic complications and low socio-educational level.