Ethnic differences in plantar pressures in diabetic patients with peripheral neuropathy.

Aims: To compare plantar foot pressures between Caucasian and Hispanic diabetic patients with peripheral neuropathy (PN) without a history of foot ulceration and between Caucasian and Hispanic non-diabetic individuals.

Methods: Forty-four Hispanic diabetic patients with PN (HDPN), 35 Caucasian diabetic patients with PN (CDPN), 41 non-diabetic Hispanic subjects and 33 non-diabetic Caucasian subjects participated. Total and regional peak plantar pressures (PPs) and pressure time integrals (PTIs) were assessed using the EMED-SF-4 plantar pressure system.

Results: Hispanic diabetic patients with PN had significantly lower peak PP than Caucasian diabetic patients with PN in the entire foot (552.4 +/- 227.9 vs. 810.1 +/- 274.6 kPa; P < 0.001), forefoot (464.1 +/- 222.6 vs. 699.6 +/- 323.1 kPa; P < 0.001), hindfoot (296.3.4 + 101.8 vs. 398.1 + 178.3 kPa; P < 0.01) and at the fifth metatarsal head (MTH5; 204.3 +/- 143.2 vs. 388.2 +/- 273.9 kPa; P < 0.001). The PTI in the entire foot, forefoot and MTH5 were also lower in HDPN than in CDPN. The ethnic differences between the diabetic groups with PN for the entire foot, forefoot and MTH5 remained significant after adjusting for the effect of age, gender, weight and duration of diabetes. There were no significant differences in peak PP and PTI among non-diabetic individuals, except for a lower peak PP at the MTH5 in Hispanic compared with Caucasian subjects.

Conclusions: Despite a well-known higher incidence of foot complications in diabetic Hispanic subjects, dynamic plantar pressures are lower in Hispanic diabetic patients with PN when compared with their Caucasian counterparts, suggesting that differences in other risk factors exist between these two ethnic groups.