The impact of gender on amputation

Area of Science:

• Medicine
• Epidemiology
• Public Health

Background:

• Lower extremity amputations are a significant complication, particularly for individuals with diabetes mellitus.
• Understanding gender-based differences in amputation levels and risk factors is crucial for targeted interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the proportion and levels of lower extremity amputations between men and women.
• To investigate these differences in populations with and without diabetes mellitus.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of 14,555 nontraumatic lower extremity amputations from New York State data (1990-1991).
• Categorization of amputations into foot, leg, and thigh levels.
• Comparison of demographic data and amputation levels between diabetic and nondiabetic men and women, controlling for age.

Main Results:

• 58.8% of amputations were performed on patients with diabetes mellitus.
• Men, both diabetic and nondiabetic, were more likely to have foot amputations.
• Women, both diabetic and nondiabetic, were more likely to have thigh amputations.
• Men were younger than women across all amputation levels and diabetic status.
• Vascular disease prevalence was similar between genders when controlling for age.

Conclusions:

• Gender influences the level of lower extremity amputation, with men favoring foot amputations and women favoring thigh amputations.
• Diabetes mellitus is a major factor in lower extremity amputations, but gender-specific patterns persist.
• Age-adjusted vascular disease prevalence does not explain gender differences in amputation levels.