Around 500 people a year lose a part of their foot because of complications resulting from diabetes, academics and practitioners have warned.
One in eight adults aged 25 to 64 suffer from diabetes, and 10,000 people are unaware they have the disorder.
Having diabetes increases risks of developing a wider range of foot issues, often starting with a small foot problem that can become more complicated over time. Around 15 to 20 per cent of patients with diabetes will develop a foot ulcer at some point during their lifetime.
Every 20 seconds a lower limb is amputated due to diabetes, according to the International Working Group on the Diabetic Foot. Over 80 per cent of all amputations are caused by a foot ulcer and can be preventable.
Major amputations caused by diabetes fell by a third this year, according to statistics published by the Health Ministry.
The Times of Malta last year reported MEPs had warned government had ignored medical practitioners’ advice on shorter free insulin needles.
More commitment is needed to fight silent epidemic
MEP Francis Zammit Dimech had said official requests by professionals for 4mm pen needles had been rejected. However, the Health Ministry had said the shorter needles could lead to incorrect dispensing if they were given to adolescents and adults instead of children. This was because the length might not be sufficient to reach the correct depth for best use of insulin, a spokesman for the ministry said.
The latest statistics on amputations emerged following a meeting by Dr Zammit Dimech with representatives of the Diabetes Foot Research Group at the University of Malta. During the meeting, the researchers spoke on the need to have updated information and data on diabetes.
Noting several people in Malta were unaware they had diabetes, Dr Zammit Dimech called for the possibility of population-based screenings. He also recommended an extensive standardised diabetes register that would facilitate the exchanged of data across the EU.
Dr Zammit Dimech has reiterated his call for more investment in research, saying numbers in amputations were still relatively high.
“More commitment is needed to fight this silent epidemic,” the PN MEP said.