Racial disparities in prosthesis abandonment and mobility outcomes after lower limb amputation from a dysvascular etiology in a veteran population.

Background: Non-Hispanic Black (NHB) individuals have higher rates of amputation and increased risk of a transfemoral amputation due to dysvascular disease than non-Hispanic White (NHW) individuals. However, it is unclear if NHB individuals have differences in prosthesis use or functional outcomes following an amputation.

Objective: To determine if there are racial disparities in prosthesis abandonment and mobility outcomes in veterans who have undergone their first major unilateral lower extremity amputation (LEA) due to diabetes and/or peripheral artery disease.

Design: National cohort study that identified individuals retrospectively through the Veterans Affairs (VA) Corporate Data Warehouse (CDW) from March 1, 2018, to November 30, 2020, then prospectively collected their self-reported prosthesis abandonment and mobility. Multiple logistic regression was used to control for potential confounders and identify potential effect modifiers.

Setting: The VA CDW, participant mailings and phone calls.

Participants: Three hundred fifty-seven individuals who underwent an incident transtibial or transfemoral amputation due to diabetes and/or peripheral arterial disease.

Interventions: Not applicable.

Main Outcomes Measures: (1) Self-reported prosthesis abandonment. (2) Level of mobility assessed using the Locomotor Capabilities Index.

Results: Rurally located NHB individuals without a major depressive disorder (MDD) had increased odds of abandoning their prosthesis (adjusted odds ratios [aOR] = 5.3; 95% confidence interval [CI]: [1.3-21.1]). This disparity was nearly three times as large for rurally located NHB individuals with MDD diagnosis, compared with other races from rural areas and with MDD (aOR = 15.8; 95% CI, 2.5-97.6). NHB individuals living in an urban area were significantly less likely to achieve advanced mobility, both with MDD (aOR=0.16; 95% CI: [0.04-7.0]) and without MDD (aOR = 0.26; 95% CI: [0.09-0.73]).

Conclusions: This study demonstrated that health care disparities persist for NHB veterans following a dysvascular LEA, with increased prosthesis abandonment and worse mobility outcomes.