Annual Foot Exams are Associated with Reduced Incident Amputation among Older Veterans with Diabetes

Latricia L. Allen, Anjali Khakharia, Lawrence S. Phillips, Theodore M. Johnson, Constance R. Uphold, Molly M. Perkins, Elizabeth Vaughan

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

We conducted a secondary data analysis to evaluate the association between annual foot exams and incident lower extremity amputations (LEA) among older veterans with diabetes during FY2007–FY2014. Older Veterans with at least one primary care provider visit each year (N = 664,162) and at least one foot exam each year (N = 72,892) and the overlap were identified from the 5 years prior to the study period of interest (FY2002–FY2006 (N = 71,122)). After excluding incident LEA related to cancer and trauma, 71,018 veterans (mean age +/− SD, % male) were included in the final cohort, which was followed from FY2007–FY2014 to evaluate the influence of subsequent annual foot exams and incident LEA. Consistent annual foot exams were protective for incident LEA in older veterans with diabetes, adjusted OR was 0.85 (97% CI: 0.74–0.96). Results indicate that adherence to annual foot exam guidelines can reduce incident LEA in older veterans with diabetes.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)205-212
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Applied Gerontology
Volume42
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2023
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Foot exam
  • aged
  • amputation
  • diabetes
  • diabetic foot
  • incidence
  • veterans

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Gerontology
  • Geriatrics and Gerontology

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Annual Foot Exams are Associated with Reduced Incident Amputation among Older Veterans with Diabetes'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this