Exercise, Alcohol Abstinence, and Smoking Cessation... Reduce Diabetic Foot Amputation Risk by 2.45 Times

Yeouido St. Mary's Hospital Professors Kim Junhyuk and Lee Yoonjae Team
Analysis of 2.6 Million Type 2 Diabetes Patients
"Do Not Delay Lifestyle Habit Correction"

Plastic Surgery Department of Yeouido St. Mary's Hospital, Professors Junhyuk Kim (left) and Yoonjae Lee.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] A study has found that behavioral modifications such as exercise, smoking cessation, and alcohol abstinence can significantly reduce the risk of diabetic foot amputation in diabetic patients.

The research team led by Professors Kim Jun-hyuk and Lee Yoon-jae from the Department of Plastic Surgery at Yeouido St. Mary's Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea, announced on the 5th that they analyzed factors that can lower the risk of diabetic foot amputation and their effects.

Diabetic foot is a representative chronic complication of diabetes accompanied by peripheral neuropathy and vascular disease, affecting 20% of diabetic patients. Among patients with diabetic foot ulcers, 33% undergo lower limb amputation surgery.

The research team conducted a cohort study on a total of 2,644,440 patients aged 20 and older with type 2 diabetes registered in the National Health Insurance Service database. As a result, the risk of lower limb amputation was found to be approximately 1.44 times higher in smokers and about 1.37 times higher in those who consume alcohol. Conversely, regular exercise reduced the risk to about 0.76 times.

Furthermore, when diabetic patients implemented the three behavioral modifications of regular exercise, smoking cessation, and alcohol abstinence, the risk of lower limb amputation decreased by up to 2.45 times. Especially among patients diagnosed within five years of diabetes onset, the effects of smoking cessation and alcohol abstinence were more pronounced.

Professor Lee stated, "This study is significant in that it identified factors that can reduce the amputation rate of diabetic foot and confirmed that there are major behavioral factors that patients can practically modify." Professor Kim explained, "The three behavioral modifications?regular exercise, smoking cessation, and alcohol abstinence?have a synergistic effect in lowering the risk of lower limb amputation, so diabetic patients should not delay lifestyle changes."

This study was published in the October online edition of the international journal Endocrinology and Metabolism (IF 3.607).