Foot ulcers and risk factors among diabetic patients visiting Surgery Department in a University Teaching Hospital in Ajman, UAE

Abstract

Objective: To assess the frequency of foot ulcers and their risk factors among diabetic patients visiting surgery department in a university teaching hospital in Ajman, UAE especially in relation to gender, nationality and age, blood glucose levels and lipid profile. Materials and Methods: This hospital-based retrospective record analysis was conducted for patients with diabetes mellitus visiting department of surgery for a period of 8 years from 2002 to 2010. Diabetic patients with foot ulcers were cases and those without were controls. Results: Among the diabetic patients recruited for this study, 75% were males and 25% were females. Among these diabetic patients, 76.3% of male patients were diagnosed with foot ulcers as opposed to 23.8% of female patients. Majority of diabetic patients were from Asia (53.1%) and Middle- East (33.8%). Diabetic foot ulcers were reported more in Asian patients (57%) compared to patients from Middle East (29.1%). Diabetic foot ulcers were most prevalent in the age group 50 to 59 years (42.5%) and least prevalent in the age group 20 to 29 years (5%). The mean HDL, total cholesterol, LDL and VLDL were all higher for diabetic patients with foot ulcer than controls with levels of only HDL being statistically significant (p<0.05). Mean HDL levels for cases was 37.3±8.3 whereas that for controls was 31.3±7.9. The mean Post Prandial blood glucose is 286.4 mg/dl for diabetic patients without foot ulcer which is significantly higher than diabetic patients with foot ulcer who had a mean value of 249.6 mg/dl but there was no significant difference in mean fasting glucose values. Conclusion: Asian middle-aged male diabetics are most likely to have foot complications. HDL levels were high whereas post-prandial blood glucose levels were comparatively low in diabetics with foot ulcers than without.