Pittsburgh Diabetics More Likely To Lose Limbs

POSTED: 3:42 pm EST December 29, 2008
UPDATED: 3:55 pm EST December 29, 2008

PITTSBURGH -- People who suffer from diabetes know that losing a limb is a possible complication from the disease.

Pennsylvania has one of the worst amputation rates in the northeast.

The main reason for diabetics losing limbs is poor control of the disease. Diabetes affects every organ of the body. Without eating the proper foods, exercise and medication, diabetes can damage the eyes, heart, kidneys and circulatory system. Poor circulation can lead to amputation.

According to the Dartmouth Atlas that numbers of diabetics facing amputation is higher in Pennsylvania than the rest of the northeast.

For every 1,000 Medicare beneficiaries in Pennsylvania with diabetes nearly 1.25 have a lower limb cut off. That rate is higher than in Indiana, Rhode Island and Michigan.

In the Pittsburgh region the rate is 18 percent higher than the national average.

Doctors blame the high rate of amputations on poor diet, very little exercise, smoking and poorly controlled diabetes. That eventually leads to heart and kidney disease, blindness and poor circulation in the legs and feet. While doctors are good at checking the heart, they don't always look at the feet.

Any problem such as ingrown toenails, coldness, numbness burning or the lack of a pulse is cause for close examination and treatment.

When blood doesn't move through blood vessels, the tissue dies. The result can be foot ulcers, dead nerves, infections, gangrene and amputation. Cutting off a limb means lost mobility and on average shortens a person's lifespan by 18 months.

Poverty and lack of access to good health care and treatment can make diabetes even more difficult to manage.

Aarly and constant treatment can save eyes, organs and limbs. Even if the disease has progressed there are ways to hold the damage at bay, so patients are advised to seek out help and demand medical attention.

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