"Continuous Conservative Treatment for Diabetic Foot Increases Depression Incidence"

Soonchunhyang University Seoul Hospital Foot & Diabetic Foot Center Professor Won Seong-hoon's Team
Study on the Correlation Between Diabetic Foot Treatment and the Occurrence of Depression

Professor Won Seong-hoon, Soonchunhyang University Seoul Hospital.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] It has been found that the incidence of depression is lower in amputation treatment compared to continuous conservative treatment when treating diabetic foot caused by diabetic complications.

Generally, amputation in diabetic foot treatment is considered a failure of treatment. However, timely amputation can actually shorten the treatment period, prevent side effects of continuous conservative treatment, and especially reduce the incidence of mental illnesses such as depression.

Professor Won Seong-hoon’s research team at Soonchunhyang University Seoul Hospital Foot & Diabetic Foot Center recently investigated the relationship between diabetic foot and depression and announced their findings in a paper on the 7th. The team analyzed diabetic foot and depression disorder codes from the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service (HIRA) Medicare claim data from 2011 to 2016, dividing patients into limb preservation and amputation groups. The incidence of depression was evaluated based on patients’ demographic variables, and comorbidities were assessed using the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI).

Comparing the 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year incidence rates of depression, the limb preservation group showed rates of 10.1%, 20.4%, and 29.5%, respectively, while the amputation group showed rates of 4.5%, 8.2%, and 11.5%, respectively. Analysis of other risk factors revealed that females had a higher incidence of depression than males, higher comorbidity index scores increased depression incidence, and longer durations of conservative treatment in the limb preservation group raised the incidence of depression.

Professor Won Seong-hoon stated, “Depression in diabetic foot patients appears to be related not to the single intense event of amputation but to the frequent recurrence and chronicity of diabetic foot wounds, with uncertainty about future treatment processes having a significant impact. When deciding on treatment methods, it is important to consider that a chronic and uncertain long treatment period can affect the patient’s mood disorders.”

This study was published on April 4th last month in the SCIE-level international journal 'Applied Sciences.'

Soonchunhyang University Seoul Hospital has been operating the Foot & Diabetic Foot Center since 2019. Certified by the Diabetic Foot Society, the center provides optimal treatment through multidisciplinary collaboration among specialists from over 10 departments including endocrinology, nephrology, infectious diseases, plastic surgery, orthopedics, surgery, radiology, thoracic surgery, rehabilitation medicine, and pain medicine.

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