Diabetic Foot: Influence of Atmospheric Pressure and Temperature on its Epidemiology

Introduction: Diabetic foot is a frequent pathology for foot and ankle surgeons.About 20% of diabetic patients will suffer from an ulcer at some time in their lives.Epidemiology is crucial for prevention, and seasonal incidence variations should be taken into account to prevent new cases.The objective of this research is to evaluate whether seasonal variations in pressure and temperature have an influence on the incidence of diabetic foot.Materials and methods: A retrospective study was performed from 2014 to 2016 inclusive.Data was obtained from a hospital in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires.All surgeries and consultations for diabetic feet were recorded.Daily and monthly variation data on temperature and atmospheric pressure was obtained for this period.The statistical study was carried out for all data comparisons in order to evaluate the differences and their significance.Results: Average temperature increase of 3.5°C and average atmospheric pressure decrease of 3.2 hPa were associated with an increase in the incidence of diabetic foot.Increase of 315% in the number of surgeries and 42.7% in consultations were observed. Conclusion:There is a significant association between atmospheric pressure, temperature, and number of cases of diabetic foot.Temperature increases of 3.5°C associated with pressure drops of 3.2 hPa generated an increase in the number of cases.This relationship is more frequent in warm months.Prospective and multicenter studies should be carried out.The validity of our hypothesis would allow us to foresee increases in incidence and design preventive actions.Level of evidence: IV.