Lower-extremity amputation in diabetic patients: age at amputation is not different from that in non-diabetic controls

Abstract

To assess whether diabetic patients undergo lower-extremity amputations (LEA) at an earlier age than non-diabetic patients, and whether there is a relationship between duration of diabetes mellitus and the age at which such amputations occur, we performed a retrospective analysis of data on 289 consecutive diabetic and 484 consecutive non-diabetic patients who underwent LEA for macrovascular disease. The mean age of diabetic patients who had LEA (69.1±0.6 years) was not different from that of non-diabetic patients (69.6±0.6 years, 0.4>P>0.5), with no significant differences in age distribution. Age at diagnosis of diabetes mellitus and duration of diabetes mellitus until LEA were inversely related. Patients who were diagnosed as diabetics at a young age had the longest time lag until LEA (r=0.73,P<0.0001). In addition, age at amputation was not significantly different between subgroups of patients with varying duration of diabetes. In conclusion, mean age and age distribution in diabetics and non-diabetics who underwent LEA were not different, and age at LEA was comparable for groups with varying duration of diabetes. These data on a large group of diabetic and non-diabetic patients are not compatible with the view that duration of diabetes mellitus is related to early LEA.