Socioeconomic profile of diabetic patients with and without foot problems

• Published in: Diabetic foot & ankle 2010-01, Vol.1 (1), p.5523
• Main Authors: Nather, Aziz, Siok Bee, Chionh, Keng Lin, Wong, Qi Odelia, Koh Si, Yiong Huak, Chan, Xinyi, Li, Nambiar, Ajay
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Clinical; diabetic foot; HbA1; income; patient compliance; social conditions
• ISSN: 2000-625X; 2000-625X
• DOI: 10.3402/dfa.v1i0.5523

Introduction : To identify the differences in a socioeconomic profile between two cohorts of diabetic patients - one with diabetic foot problems and another without diabetic foot problems. Materials and methods : The cohort with diabetic foot problems (including cellulitis, abscess, osteomyelitis, septic arthritis, gangrene, ulcers, or Charcot joint disease) consisted of 122 diabetic patients, while the other cohort without foot problems consisted of 112 diabetic patients. Both were seen at the National University Hospital from January to April 2007. A detailed protocol was designed and the factors studied included patient profile, average monthly household income, education, compliance to diabetic medication, attendance at clinics for diabetic treatment, exercise, smoking, alcohol consumption, gender, and glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1 C ) level. These were studied for significant differences using univariate and stepwise multivariate logistic regression analysis. Results : With multivariate analysis, Malay ethnicity (p7.0%; p=0.015) were found to be significantly higher in the cohort with diabetic foot problems than the cohort without. Conclusions : There are significant differences in the socioeconomic factors between diabetic patients with diabetic foot problems and those without.