A fact-finding survey on pre-ulcerative lesions of foot in patients with diabetes: analysis using the Diabetes Study from the Center of Tokyo Women's Medical University 2018 (DIACET 2018).

Aims/introduction: We aimed to identify the frequency and risk factors of pre-ulcerative lesions of foot in Japanese individuals with diabetes.

Materials and methods: This was a single-center cross-sectional observational study. We conducted a questionnaire survey of 5029 individuals with diabetes (mean age 63 years; 2185 women; 1015 individuals with type 1 diabetes and 4014 individuals with type 2 diabetes) who (a) participated in the Diabetes Study from the Center of Tokyo Women's Medical University: DIACET 2018, and (b) responded to the presence of pre-ulcerative lesions of foot. A pre-ulcerative lesions of foot was defined as a calluses, ingrown nails, or symptoms of fungal infection. The associations between pre-ulcerative lesions of foot and commonly available clinical information were examined using the logistic regression analysis.

Results: 412 of 1015 (40.6%) individuals with type 1 diabetes and 1585 of 4014 (39.5%) individuals with type 2 diabetes reported having any type of pre-ulcerative lesions of foot. The frequency of calluses, ingrown nails, and symptoms of fungal infection, respectively, were 16.8%, 15.8%, and 21.9% in type 1 diabetes and 10.5%, 18.5%, and 24.7% in type 2 diabetes. In the separate analysis by type of diabetes, common risk factors found to be significantly correlated with pre-ulcerative lesions of foot were female gender, numbness in the feet and foot deformation.

Conclusion: Proactive foot screening by health care professionals was considered important, especially in individuals with type 1 and type 2 diabetes with advanced complications and foot deformation.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13340-023-00649-7.