stimating the Prevalence of Limb Loss in the United Stat 005 to 2050

Objective: To estimate the current prevalence of limb los he United States and project the future prevalence to the 050. Design: Estimates were constructed using age-, sex-, an ace-specific incidence rates for amputation combined w ge-, sex-, and race-specific assumptions about mortality. idence rates were derived from the 1988 to 1999 Nation npatient Sample of the Healthcare Cost and Utilizati roject, corrected for the likelihood of reamputation am hose undergoing amputation for vascular disease. Inciden ates were assumed to remain constant over time and appli istoric mortality and population data along with the vailable estimates of relative risk, future mortality, and fu opulation projections. To investigate the sensitivity of rojections to increasing or decreasing incidence, we dev ped alternative sets of estimates of limb loss related to ascular conditions based on assumptions of a 10% or ncrease or decrease in incidence of amputations for th onditions. Setting: Community, nonfederal, short-term hospitals in t nited States. Participants: Persons who were discharged from a hospit ith a procedure code for upper-limb or lower-limb amputa r diagnosis code of traumatic amputation. Interventions: Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures: Prevalence of limb loss by a ex, race, etiology, and level in 2005 and projections to the 050. Results: In the year 2005, 1.6 million persons were li ith the loss of a limb. Of these subjects, 42% were non nd 38% had an amputation secondary to dysvascular dise ith a comorbid diagnosis of diabetes mellitus. It is proje hat the number of people living with the loss of a lim ore than double by the year 2050 to 3.6 million. If incid