Abstract
Purpose: This study reports on limb amputations in diabetic patients according to gender, age, and region based on the data from the Korean Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service. Materials and Methods: The number of amputations was compared by region, age, gender, and year, as well as by femoral region, lower leg, foot, and toe in diabetic patients who received limb amputation. This analysis was performed based on the data from the Korean Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service, between January 2009 and December 2014. Results: The total number of amputations between the study period was 9,155. The number of patients who were treated at hospitals for diabetes in 2009 was 1.9 million, among which, 1,214 patients underwent amputation. In 2014, the incidence of diabetes was 1,747 in 2.58 million individuals. With this rising incidence of diabetes, the amputation of limbs due to diabetes is increasing every year. In particular, the following regions were amputated more often: femoral region, 2.3%; lower legs, 19.6%; feet, 18.1%; and toes 60.0%. Regarding gender differences, males showed a higher amputation rate than females for all body parts. With respect to region, Seoul was the highest with 30.2%, followed by Gyeonggi with 19.9%, and Busan with 8.8%. According to age, older age showed greater diabetic amputation rate. Conclusion: In accordance with the rising incidence of diabetes, the diabetic amputation is also increasing. Here, we showed that toes were amputated with the highest percentage and males had greater amputation rate than females for all body parts. Moreover, amputation rate was highest in older diabetic patients, especially for those in their seventies. Additionally, Seoul was the region with highest amputation rate.