Prevalence and Risk Evaluation of Diabetic Complications of the Foot Among Adults With Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes in a Large Canadian Population (PEDAL Study)

Abstract

ObjectivesThe lower limb complications of diabetes contribute significantly to patient morbidity and health-care costs in Canada. Despite practice guidelines, awareness of and screening for modifiable early pathologies has been inconsistent. Our study objective was to determine the prevalence and types of early foot pathology in a large, Canadian, community care–based diabetes population. MethodsThis study was a retrospective, observational analysis of the LMC Diabetes & Endocrinology foot care program launched in 2017. We examined foot pathologies associated with vascular, nerve, nail and dermatologic complications, as well as foot deformities. Individuals ≥18 years of age with diabetes, assessed by an LMC chiropodist in Ontario between February 2018 and April 2019, were included in the analysis. ResultsOf the 5,084 individuals assessed, 470 with type 1 diabetes and 3,903 with type 2 diabetes met the study criteria. Mean age, body mass index and diabetes duration were 61.5 years, 31.3 kg/m2 and 13.9 years, respectively. Reduced pedal pulses, sensory neuropathy and onychomycosis were reported in 8.9%, 16.7% and 14.5% of those in the type 1 diabetes group, and in 19.4%, 26.6% and 28.7% of those in the type 2 group, respectively. Hyperkeratosis was present in 51% and foot deformities were present in 44.5% among both groups. Foot ulcer prevalence was 1.7%, and pedal pulses, sensory neuropathy, hyperkeratosis and onychauxis, adjusted for age, sex, body mass index and diabetes duration, were each significantly associated with ulceration. ConclusionsIn a large foot screening program of community-based adults with diabetes, modifiable early foot pathologies were prevalent and provided further evidence of the value of consistent screening to alleviate the morbidity and economic burden of lower limb complications.