Diabetic Foot Facts

  • Podiatric medical care in people with history of diabetic foot ulcer can reduce high level amputation from between 65% and 80%  Gibson, et al, Int Wound Journal, 2013

  • Diabetes kills more people annually than breast cancer and AIDS combined. American Diabetes Association, 2009

  • Chronic wounds affect some 8 million Americans each year. That’s one wound every 3.8 seconds in the USA, alone.
    Harsha , 2008 and Tomic-Canic 2010
  • Diabetic foot ulcers double mortality and heart attack risk while increasing risk for stroke by 40%
    Brownrigg, et al, Diabetologia, 2012

  • Every 30 minutes a limb is lost due to a landmine, Every 20 seconds, a limb is lost due to diabetes. Bharara, Mills, Suresh, Armstrong, Int Wound J, 2009

  • The relative 5-year mortality rate after limb amputation is 68%. When compared with cancer – it is second only to lung cancer (86%).  (Colorectal cancer 39%, Breast cancer 23%, Hodgkin’s disease 18%, Prostate cancer 8%) Armstrong, et al, International Wound Journal, 2007

  • Diabetes contributes to approximately 80% of the 120,000 nontraumatic amputations performed yearly in the United States.  Armstrong et al. Amer Fam Phys 1998

  • More than half of all foot ulcers (wounds) will become infected, requiring hospitalization and 20% of infections result in amputation.  Lavery, Armstrong, et al.  Diabetes Care 2006

  • Up to 34% of those with diabetes will develop a foot ulcer. Armstrong, Boulton, Bus, New England Journal of Medicine, 2017

  • 60-70% of those with diabetes will develop peripheral neuropathy, or lose sensation in their feet.  Dyck et al.  Diabetic Neuropathy 1999

  • The estimated annual US Burden of Diabetic Foot Ulcers is at least $15 Billion Rice, et al, Diabetes Care, 2014