Endocrine Abstracts

Aims: To assess the knowledge of diabetic patients on the health of their feetand to identify the associated factors with good knowledge, while providing podiatric advice.

Methodology: It was a descriptive and analytical transversal prospective studyabout 100 diabetic patients (44 men, 56 women; age range 29–87 years). They had an evaluation of their knowledge on the diabetic foot, using a pre-established questionnaire as well as a metabolic evaluation.

Results: The mean age was 54 ± 12.9 years, The sex ratio was 0.78. 56% had a secondary or higher education level. Active smoking was 35% common. Diabetes was type 2 in the majority of cases (78%). The average duration of progression of diabetes was 13.62 ± 6.29 years. 78% of the population has been unbalanced. 34% of the population had good knowledge of preventive measures for diabetic foot. Having good knowledge of preventive measures was significantly associated with secondary or higher education (P = 0.005), female gender (P = 0.026) and glycemic control (P = 0.043).

Conclusion: The prevalence of patients with good knowledge of preventive measures for diabetic foot was low in our study and did not exceed one third of the population. Larger studies are essential in order to identify the factors associated with poor podiatric knowledge and podiatric practices, as well as the factors which slow down adherence to preventive measures recommended.