Prevalence Of Diabetic Foot Ulcer And Levels Of Foot Care Confidence Among Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus In Rural Area Of Thiruvallur District - A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study

Abstract

Introduction

Diabetes mellitus, a severe chronic illness, is brought on by either insufficient or ineffective insulin synthesis, leaving the body with a persistent metabolic imbalance. A severe consequence of diabetes mellitus, diabetic foot ulceration is a significant cause of illness and mortality that leads to poor quality of life.

Methodology

Among 189 type 2 diabetes patients registered in the Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) clinic at the Rural Health Center in Thiruvallur , a cross-sectional analytical study was conducted. All the diabetic patients who visited the NCD clinic between November 2025 and March 2025  were recruited for the study. Consecutive sampling was done. Data was collected through a face-to-face interview with a structured questionnaire, including a Foot Care Confidence Scale developed by the Australasian Journal of Podiatric Medicine. Data was entered in (Microsoft) MS Excel and analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 25.0. Statistical analysis was done to find an association between two categorical variables by chi-square test and for three categorical variables analysis of Variance (ANOVA) test was done.

Results

Our study shows that 51.9% of the patients are female, while 48.1% are male. Most patients (86.2%) are being treated at Saveetha Medical College and Hospital , Rural health center, indicating the significance of this clinic in managing Type 2 Diabetes mellitus. The prevalence of diabetic foot ulcers was 3.17 times higher in study participants aged >55 years compared to the other category (PR = 3.17 CI = 0.72-13.89).

Conclusion

It is essential to understand how participants fall across various risk categories to apply interventions and preventive measures appropriate for the individual risk levels. Healthcare professionals can better manage patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus overall foot care by focusing on targeted attempts to prevent diabetic foot ulcers.