According to Diabetes UK, the leading UK diabetes charity, as many as 100 people every week are having a limb amputated as a direct result of diabetes . Diabetes affects well over two million people in the UK. Amputation occurs when fluctuations in blood sugar levels damage nerves or blood vessels.
As many as 5,000 people per annum have an amputation, and people with diabetes are 15 times more likely to have a lower limb amputated. Diabetes UK called for greater awareness of how diabetes causes complications.
Recent figures indicate that some seven out of 10 people who have an amputation will die within a five year period. Amongst people with diabetes, foot ulcers are the usual cause of amputation.
The chief executive of Diabetes UK, Douglas Smallwood, was reported as commenting: “This situation is shocking given that most amputations can be prevented with better awareness and management of the condition.”

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