Issue 122 Item 11 African Americans at Increased Risk For Amputations

The rate of amputations for circulation problems due to diabetes–is on the rise, researchers report. Researchers also found that African Americans are two to three times as likely as other racial groups to undergo an amputation due to vascular problems, the investigators found.

In the study, Dr. Timothy R. Dillingham, from the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, and colleagues reviewed the hospital discharge records of more than 1 million amputation patients in the US between 1988 and 1996.

Overall, 82% of amputations were due to circulatory problems caused by diabetes, heart disease or other illnesses. This type of amputation increased 27% by 1996, while trauma-related amputations decreased by 50%, and cancer-related amputations dropped by 43%, Dr. Dillingham’s team reports.

"In 1996, the rate of dysvascular amputations was almost 8 times greater than that of trauma-related amputations, the second-leading cause of limb loss," the authors write in the August issue of the Southern Medical Journal.

African Americans of all ages were at particularly high risk for dysvascular amputations. African Americans under 45 years of age were twice as likely as other racial groups to lose a limb, and among the oldest age groups, African Americans were three times as likely as other racial groups to lose a limb.

"Rising rates of lower limb amputations in the general population combined with disproportionately higher rates among African Americans are concerning and warrant further investigation," Dr. Dillingham said in a statement.

"We need to better understand the causes of racial differences in amputation rates and policymakers need to identify and promote public health initiatives that alleviate the excess risk of limb loss among the minority populations," he added. South Med J 2002;95:875-883.