The prevalence of foot deformity in diabetic subjects: A population study in an English community

Abstract

The prevalence of foot deformity was estimated in 1077 diabetic subjects registered with ten general practices (total list size 97,034) in a geographically defined area of East Dorset. An age and sex matched non‐diabetic group consisting of 480 individuals drawn from the same population was also studied. Foot deformity was determined by clinical examination. The prevalence of foot deformity was 44.5% (95%CI 41.5) in the diabetic subjects and 47.7% (95% CI 42.7 to 52.2) in the non‐diabetic group. After adjusting for age, the difference was not significant (odds ratio (OR) 0.91, 95% CI 0.72 to 1.14, p=0.40). The prevalence of foot deformity increased with age and was more common in women for either group. Claw toe deformity, after adjusting for age, was more frequent in both types of diabetes although only reaching statistical significance for Type I subjects (OR 2.23, 95% CI 1.08 to 4.61, p=0.03 for Type I diabetes and OR 1.41 95% CI 0.95 to 2.10, p=0.09 for Type 2 diabetes). Foot deformity was significantly associated with foot ulceration and peripheral neuropathy. Since foot deformity may be a risk factor for foot ulceration, Preventive strategies should be targeted to elderly diabetic subjects. Copyright © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.