A new study published in the journal Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice has shown that the number of limb amputations in England due to type 2 diabetes has risen steeply.
A team at Imperial College in London found that between 1996 and 2005 below ankle amputations doubled to more than 2,000 and major amputations increased by 43 percent. The average age of those having above the ankle amputations fell from 71 to 69 years, which according to the researchers, followed the pattern of people being diagnosed younger.
Conversely though, the number of amputations relating to type 1 diabetes dropped.
The number of people with type 2 diabetes has increased greatly during the past decade which may partly account for the findings. Type 2 diabetes can go undetected for a long period of time before diagnosis which sometimes means that complications can develop, including foot problems, which if not treated properly can lead to amputation.
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