الفهرس 
IntroductionOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
The international epidemiological studies suggest that 2.5% of diabetic patients develop diabetic foot ulcers each year and that 15% of all diabetic patients develop DFU during their life time. The prevalence of active or past foot ulceration among diabetic patients attending the outpatient diabetes clinic at Mansoura University Specialized Medical Hospital was 1.2% and 5.7% respectively during 2008.The presence of diabetic foot ulcer has a serious deleterious effect on QoL for the individuals affected. HRQoL seems to be a neglected area in the studies on diabetes and diabetic foot in Egypt generally and in Dakahlia specially. So, this study was designed to fill this gab and throw the light on importance of diabetic foot ulcer and its effect on HRQoL of DFU patients. The study was carried out during the period from January to December 2008 in diabetic foot clinic and outpatient diabetes clinic in Mansoura University Specialized Medical Hospital to compare QoL of patients with DFU and diabetic patients without any foot lesion. Results: DFU is a major health problem. It has deleterious effect on QoL of the affected patients. The older age, male sex, smoking, longer duration of DM, presence of diabetic neuropathy, and history of previous ulceration and amputation were proved to be risk factors for development of DFU in the current study. DFU had a significant impact on total QoL score and its domains including; social, psychological, physical, and economic domains. The age group 45-65 years, female sex ,low social level, longer ulcer duration, large ulcer diameter, severe Wagner grade and presence of previous amputation were associated with poorer QoL in DFU patients.