Diabetic foot ulcers linked to premature death from vascular, nonvascular causes

Individuals with diabetic foot ulcers were shown to be at greater risk of premature death from vascular and nonvascular causes than those without ulcers, according to a recently published study.

Researchers obtained data for patients who attended a secondary care diabetic foot clinic or a general diabetes clinic between 2009 and 2010. The control group consisted of a clinic cohort of patients with diabetes and no history of diabetic foot ulceration (DFU). Researchers recorded cause-specific mortality during a median follow-up of 3.6 years. They evaluated the association between DFU and all-cause mortality by Cox regression, while the association between DFU and cardiovascular mortality was determined by competing risk modeling.

Overall, researchers recorded 145 events of all-cause mortality and 27 events of cardiovascular mortality among 869 patients with diabetes. Study results showed DFU was associated with cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality after adjustment for potential confounders. Researchers found similarities in the proportion of deaths attributable to cardiovascular disease between the groups.

For more information:

Brownrigg JRW. J Vasc Surg. 2014;doi:10.1016/j.jvs.2014.04.052.

Disclosure: The researchers have no relevant financial disclosures.

 

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