Diabetes behind 28 amputations in Brazil every day
From January through August this year, Brazil’s national health care system SUS recorded 6,982 diabetes-related lower limb amputations (legs and feet)—a daily average of over 28.Cases have been on the rise year on year, as per data from the Ministry of Health. The number of amputations in 2022 (10,168) was 3.9 percent higher than the total in 2021 (9,781), which represents an average of 27.85 surgeries per day last year in public health care facilities.According to the Brazilian Diabetes Society (SBD), the disease has become the leading cause of non-traumatic lower limb amputation in the country. Traumatic amputations, in contrast, are those that occur in traffic or work accidents, for instance.“Today, we see a large number of amputations that are not caused by accidents. The top cau...