Diabetics Risk Serious Foot Problems by Wearing Wrong Sized Shoes

More than six out of ten people with diabetes are walking around in the wrong-sized shoes, exposing themselves to serious foot problems that could lead to amputation, according to new research.

Researchers at the University of Dundee Ninewells Hospital Medical School (Dundee, Scotland) examined one hundred patients aged 24 to 89 who volunteered to take part in the shoe-size study. Patients who were also attending specialist foot clinics were excluded, as were patients who had problems standing or who were wearing specially provided footwear. All the patients had their feet fully examined and measured while they were both sitting and standing.

The study results showed that 63% of the patients were wearing the wrong-sized shoes. For example, 45% were wearing the wrong width fitting, with the majority being too narrow. Almost half (45%) of the volunteers had experienced previous problems with their feet, including ulcers, calluses, bunions, corns, or swelling. Despite this, 22% never checked their own feet and only 29% checked them daily. The study was published in the November 2007 issue of the International Journal of Clinical Practice (IJCP).

"When people stand up their feet change shape as the arch of the foot flattens and the foot becomes wider and longer,” said study co-author Dr Graham Leese, M.D. "Taking both these sets of measurements into account, only 37% of the patients were actually wearing the right-sized shoes. We also discovered that almost a third of the patients said they took a different shoe size to the one they were actually wearing. This isn't helped by the fact that shoe sizes vary from make to make.”

The World Health Organization (WHO, Geneva, Switzerland) has said that the number of people suffering from diabetes worldwide could double to 366 million by the year 2030 and that 80% of diabetic foot amputations could be prevented.


Related Links:
Ninewells Hospital Medical School
World Health Organization