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RESEARCH ARTICLE
SA JOURNAL OF DIABETES & VASCULAR DISEASE
12
VOLUME 17 NUMBER 1 • JULY 2020
Results
A total of 139 participants were recruited for the study, comprising
66 (47.5%) male and 73 (52.5%) female subjects. The mean age
was 62.0 ± 8.7 years (range 40–87 years), with males significantly
older than females (65.24 ± 8.35 vs 59.07 ± 7.99 years) (
p
=
0.001). The mean duration of diabetes was 4.97 ± 4.10 years, and
was similar in males and females (Tables 1, 2).
Foot lesions observed in this study are recorded as shown in
Table 3. The foot symptom/lesionmost commonly seenwas numbness
(
n
= 69, 49.6%). This was closely followed by a tingling sensation
(
n
= 68, 48.1%), burning sensation (
n
= 51, 36.7%), previous
ulcers (
n
= 28.1%), dryness (
n
= 34, 24.5%), skin discolouration
in the form of hypo- or hyperpigmentation (
n
= 27, 19.1%), and
previous amputation (
n
= 7.8%), among others. The presence of
foot ulceration and calluses only were significantly higher in males
compared to females (
p
= 0.026 and
p
= 0.048, respectively).
Table 4, shows the prevalence of neuropathy using both DNE
and DNS in the study participants. Evaluation of the symptoms of
neuropathy with the DNS questionnaire showed 82 (59%) patients
had a score of zero, which indicated that they had no peripheral
neuropathy, 21 (15.1%) had a score of one, 11 (7.9%) a score
Table 1.
Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of the study
participants (
n
= 139)
Variable
Number
Percentage
Age group (years)
40–55
33
23.8
56–70
84
60.4
> 70
22
15.8
Mean ± SD
62.0 ± 8.7
Range
40–87
Gender
Female
73
52.5
Male
66
47.5
Systolic BP (mmHg)
Normal
81
58.3
High
58
41.7
Mean ± SD
138.2 ± 20.8
Range
90–190
Diastolic BP (mmHg)
Normal
97
69.8
High
42
30.2
Mean ± SD
83.1±11.5
Range
50–114
BMI (kg/m
2
)
Underweight (< 18.5)
6
4.3
Normal (18.6–24.9)
44
31.7
Overweight (25.0–29.9)
54
38.8
Obese (≥ 30)
35
25.2
Mean ± SD
27.0 ± 5.2
Range
17.1–60.2
BP: blood pressure; BMI: body mass index
Table 2.
Comparison of the clinical characteristics of the study
participants by gender
Total
Male
Female
Variable
(mean ± SD)
(mean ± SD)
(mean ± SD)
p
-value
Age (years)
62.00 ± 8.70 65.24 ± 8.35 59.07 ± 7.99 < 0.001
Height (cm)
1.62 ± 0.08 1.68 ± 0.06 1.57 ± 0.05 < 0.001
Weight (kg)
70.77 ± 13.34 72.26 ± 10.15 69.42 ± 15.62 0.212
SBP (mmHg)
138.17 ± 20.85 139.21 ± 19.50 137.22 ± 22.08 0.575
DBP (mmHg)
83.06 ± 11.45 83.17 ± 11.56 82.96 ± 11.43 0.915
DM duration 4.97 ± 4.10 5.23 ± 4.33 4.74 ± 3.90 0.485
(years)
FBS (mmol/l)
10.79 ± 4.73 10.86 ± 4.05 10.73 ± 5.30 0.875
BMI (kg/m
2
)
27.00 ± 5.20 26.35 ± 6.42 27.54 ± 5.64 0.082
SBP: systolic blood pressure; DBP: diastolic blood pressure; DM: diabetes
mellitus; FBS: fasting blood sugar; BMI: body mass index.
Table 3.
Frequencies of foot lesions/symptoms among the study
participants by gender
Variable
Total,
n
(%)
Male,
n
(%) Female,
n
(%)
p
-value
Tingling
68 (48.9)
31 (47.0)
37 (50.7)
0.395
Numbness
69 (49.6)
32 (48.5)
37 (50.7)
0.464
Burning
51 (36.7)
26 (39.4)
25 (34.2)
0.325
Discoloration 27 (19.4)
12 (18.2)
15 (20.5)
0.446
Thinness
18 (12.9)
12 (18.2)
6 (8.2)
0.067
Dryness
34 (24.5)
18 (27.3)
16 (21.9)
0.296
Cracking
31 (22.3)
18 (27.3)
13 (17.8)
0.128
Trophic nail
26 (18.7)
13 (19.7)
13 (17.8)
0.472
Hair loss
23 (16.5)
11 (16.7)
12 (16.4)
0.575
Claw toes
27 (19.4)
15 (22.7)
12 (16.4)
0.235
Hammer toes
25 (18.0)
13 (19.7)
12 (16.4)
0.390
Oedema
7 (5.0)
4 (6.1)
3 (4.1)
0.444
Inter-digital
25 (18.0)
13 (19.7)
12 (16.4)
0.390
infections
Ulceration
20 (14.4)
14 (21.2)
6 (8.2)
0.026
Callus
16 (11.5)
4 (6.1)
12 (16.4)
0.048
Blistering
9 (6.5)
4 (6.1)
5 (6.8)
0.564
Gangrene
6 (4.3)
2 (3.0)
4 (5.5)
0.389
Amputation
3 (2.2)
1 (1.5)
2 (2.7)
0.538
Light touch
34 (24.5)
12 (18.2)
22 (30.1)
0.074
Temperature
26 (18.7)
11 (16.7)
15 (20.5)
0.357
Vibration
27 (19.4)
15 (22.7)
12 (16.4)
0.235
Joint position 31 (22.3)
15 (22.7)
16 (21.9)
0.535
sense
Table 4.
Prevalence of peripheral neuropathy in the study participants
according to gender using DNS and DNE scores
Scores
Male,
n
(%)
Female,
n
(%)
Total,
n
(%)
DNS
0
37 (56.1)
45 (61.6)
82 (59.0)
1
12 (18.2)
9 (12.3)
21 (15.1)
2
6 (9.1)
5 (6.8)
11 (7.9)
3
5 (7.6)
9 (12.3)
14 (10.1)
4
6 (9.1)
5 (6.8)
11 (7.9)
DNE
0
40 (60.6)
46 (63.0)
86 (61.9)
1
9 (13.6)
11 (15.1)
20 (14.4)
2
5 (7.6)
5 (6.8)
10 (7.2)
3
2 (3.0)
0 (0)
2 (1.4)
4
3 (4.5)
2 (2.7)
5 (3.6)
5
1 (1.5)
3 (4.1)
4 (2.9)
6
1 (1.5)
3 (4.1)
4 (2.9)
7
1 (1.5)
0 (0)
1 (0.7)
8
4 (6.1)
2 (2.7)
6 (4.3)
9
0(0)
1(1.4)
1(0.7)
DNS: diabetes neuropathy symptoms; DNE: diabetes neuropathy
examination;
n
: number of participants.