[Prevalence of diabetes in a 2-year material of amputations in Hordaland]

There are few data available on amputations in Norway. We present data on major amputations in Hordaland county (405,000 inhabitants), western Norway, during a 2-year period. The total number of amputated patients was 16.4 per year per 100,000 inhabitants. This figure is low compared with those of other Scandinavian reports. 34.6% of the patients had diabetes. Smoking is a major risk factor in all groups. Diabetics, smokers and men were younger when amputated than non-diabetics, non-smokers and women.