Prevalence of Diabetic Foot Ulcers Among patients in Babylon, Iraq

Abstract

Background: Diabetes Mellitus is defined as an endocrine progressive disease, characterized by either absence of insulin or lack of the response to the action of insulin by the peripheral tissue. It needs an intensive monitoring and control for level of glucose in the blood or it would progress to dangerous micro- and macro- complications. Aim: assess the prevalence of diabetic foot ulcers among diabetic patients in Babylon, Iraq and its relationship to patient’s sociodemographic and living properties. The variables encompassed in this study consist of education level, gender, age, area of residence, marital status, monthly family income, body mass index (BMI), day of walk-in, smoking habits, presence of hypertension, family history of foot ulcers, and duration of diabetes. Method: the data has been collected from hospitalized patients or those who come to the hospital to reveal their pathological condition by asking the patient directly or indirectly by asking an accompanying relative several questions using a specific questionnaires form. Results: The Diabetic Foot Ulcers (DFUs) was in males more than in females, and nearly half of patients were overweight. There were non-significant differences between hypertensive and non-hypertensive individuals, and family history of diabetic foot ulcer. Meanwhile, there was a substantial difference in the, smoking, and duration of diabetes among study population. Conclusion: Diabetic foot ulcer is a serious complication of diabetic disease and it is more common among diabetic patients who are overweight, smokers, unable to walk, uneducated, poor, urban and those with family history of diabetic foot ulcers so the findings reveal that foot ulcers in diabetic patients become a main health problem, so that better approaches and preventive measures should be done to deal with the epidemic.