Diabetes-related amputations more common in poor areas

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Diabetes-related amputations more common in poor areas

By Andrew M. Seaman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People with diabetes who live in the poorest areas of California are about twice as likely to end up with their legs or feet amputated than those living in the wealthiest areas, according to a new study. Black people and those who spoke Spanish appeared to be at a considerable disadvantage when it came to the likelihood of diabetes-related amputations, the researchers found. “I think our findings show that the medical safety net has big holes in it and people are often falling through those holes and losing their limbs to diabetes when those complications could have been prevented with better care,” Dr. Carl D. Stevens said. He and his colleagues write in the journal Health Affairs that in past studies, low-income people with diabetes tended to receive worse care for their disease, but no study had looked at overall poverty and amputations of legs and feet.

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