Complications > Foot

The human and economic consequences of diabetes-related foot problems can be harrowing. A person’s foot can become vulnerable due to various complications of diabetes. Nerve damage, vascular problems and delayed wound healing can lead to chronic ulceration. Ensuing infection or the non-healing of an ulcer can result in amputation – one of the most feared and most costly outcomes of diabetes. People with diabetes who also have a visual impairment are at even greater increased risk for serious foot problems and amputation.

There are 285 million people living with diabetes worldwide, the number of affected people is predicted to reach 438 million by 2030. Because of the rapid increase in diabetes prevalence, the number of diabetes complications is rising equally quickly. Amputation is one of the most feared of these complications. People with diabetes are at risk for nerve damage and problems with the supply of blood to their feet. Nerve damage results in a reduced ability to feel pain and, as a consequence, injuries often go unnoticed. Moreover, poor blood supply can slow down the process of wound healing.

Diabetic foot complications are the most common cause of hospital admissions among people with diabetes. Worldwide, more than 1 million amputations are performed each year as a consequence of diabetes, which means that a lower limb is lost to diabetes somewhere in the world every 30 seconds. If a person with diabetes has a lesion on the sole of a foot, offloading bodyweight is of vital importance; all therapeutic efforts are bound to fail if he or she continues to walk on an ulcer.

IDF is an organization of associations in over 160 countries around the world. As such, it is organized from the ground up. Local associations deliver the programmes of the Federation. While offering counsel and advice as well as access to best practices, IDF seeks to empower the local association. Rotary International is a similar organization. The world’s largest and oldest service club, it has over 1.2 million members in more than 33,000 clubs in 160 countries.