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.