Researchers at Imperial College London have found that the rate of amputations among those with diabetes has doubled in a 10-year period.

The Daily Mail reports that every week 100 patients lose a leg as a result of the disease.

The increase might be as a result of a surge in the number of those now being diagnosed with Type-2 diabetes, which develops towards middle age and can be diet related. Obesity is one of the most common risk factors for the disease.

A team led by Dr Eszter Vamos found that amputations above the ankle had risen by 43 per cent in the last decade – and the average age for the operation had fallen from 71 to 69 years. The researchers believe the changes are in line with the increase in those being diagnosed with Type-2 diabetes – and a rise in the number of those with complications from the disease is to be expected as more patients are diagnosed.

However, the researchers said that as many as 80 per cent of amputations among diabetes patients might be avoidable if there were improved checks by doctors and patients themselves were more aware of the risks.

Patients with diabetes may have an increased risk for heart attacks and can also develop sores and ulcers which may lead to gangrene in limbs if they become infected.

The charity Diabetes UK also said many diabetes patients did not wear shoes around the home to protect their feet from injuries that might give rise to an infection. Patients may suffer from numbness in their feet and thus be unaware of an injury. Injuries or wounds may also heal much more slowly in diabetics, increasing the risk of infection. The charity advises diabetes patients to wear slippers around the house and take care when walking barefoot.

Care adviser at Diabetes UK, Caroline Butler, said:

‘It's appalling that thousands of people with diabetes in the UK undergo lower limb amputations every year.

'We want to help reduce that number by getting people with diabetes to wear suitable slippers at home.’

The charity is calling for earlier diagnosis of diabetes. 

The research by Imperial College London is published in the journal ‘Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice’.

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