Diabetic Amputations Rising, CDC Data Show

reports that as “America’s epidemic of obesity continues, Type 2 diabetes has become so common that it’s easy to forget how serious a disease it is”; but “even for people who have witnessed its ravages in family members, there’s something about an amputation that really brings home how insidiously destructive diabetes is.” Although amputation rates “among people with diabetes in the United States dropped for about 15 years, but recent reports issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention highlight a disturbing trend: Amputation rates have been rising in people under 65 with diabetes since 2009.” The trend, data show, “was particularly strong for so-called minor amputations of toes and feet, which rose by 62 percent between 2009 and 2015.” However, “major amputations – those done above or just below the knee – were also up by 29 percent.” https://www.inquirer.com/health/amputation-increasing-diabetes-surgery-insulin-20190616.html