Limb loss is much more common than many people realize, and the numbers are growing. By learning the facts about limb loss, we can start to be better advocates for our friends and family, feel less alone during our journey with limb loss, and raise awareness through meaningful, fact-based discussion.
1. There are 2.1 million people living with limb loss in the USA, and that number is expected to double by 2050.
2. 185,000 people have a amputation each year. This means that 300 to 500 amputations are performed every day.
3. 1,558 military personnel lost a limb as a result of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
4. Around 30% of people with limb loss experience depression and/or anxiety.
5. 85% of lower limb amputations are proceeded by a foot ulcer.
6. Lifetime healthcare costs for people with limb loss is $509,275 compared to $361,200 for people without limb loss.
7. African Americans are 4 times more likely to have an amputation than White Americans.
8. Hospital charges for patients who underwent an amputation totaled $8.7 billion in 2013.
9. Of persons with diabetes who have a lower extremity amputation, up to 55% will require amputation of the second leg within 2‐3 years
10. Nearly half of the individuals who have an amputation due to vascular disease will die within 5 years. This is higher than the five year mortality rates for breast cancer, colon cancer, and prostate cancer.
11. The number of amputations caused by diabetes increased by 24% from 1988 to 2009.
12. Below-knee amputations are the most common amputations, representing 71% of dysvascular amputations1; there is a 47% expected increase in below knee amputations from 1995-2020.
13. The estimated cost to American private & public insurance agencies is $12 billion annually.
14. There are more than 1 million annual limb amputations globally -—one every 30 seconds.
15. The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) predicts that current global prevalence of diabetes will burgeon from 285 million to reach 435 million by 2030.
Sources:
Advanced-Amputees. ”Amputee Statistics You Ought to Know.”
Amputee-Coalition. ”Limb Loss in the USA.” Inside Track, 01/04/2016, 3.