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The variation in incidence of amputation throughout England
Author(s) -
Jeffcoate William,
Young Bob,
Holman Naomi
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
practical diabetes
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.205
H-Index - 24
eISSN - 2047-2900
pISSN - 2047-2897
DOI - 10.1002/pdi.1691
Subject(s) - medicine , incidence (geometry) , variation (astronomy) , ethnic group , amputation , primary care , diabetes mellitus , demography , gerontology , pediatrics , family medicine , surgery , endocrinology , physics , sociology , astrophysics , optics , anthropology
The incidence of major amputation in diabetes varies up to 10‐fold between primary care trusts (PCTs) in England. Historically, there have been concerns about the reliability of databases which are used to obtain such figures, but the available evidence suggests that the documented variation is likely to be real. While a high prevalence of ethnic minorities may contribute to the low incidence observed in some PCTs, it is also thought the variation may relate largely to the structure of available specialist services. This paper reviews the factors which need to be considered in exploring possible explanations for the variation which has been observed. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons.