Effects of type two diabetes mellitus on the plantar aponeurosis of Nigerians

The aim of this study was to assess sonographically the effects of type 2 diabetes mellitus on the plantar aponeurosis of Nigerians. A total of 400 subjects, (200 healthy, non-diabetic and 200 diabetic adult Nigerians) were studied. The non diabetic subjects consisted of 105 men (age range = 18 - 71; mean age ± SD = 42.40 ± 6. 72) and 95 women (age range = 23 - 69 years; mean age ± SD = 37.71 ± 4.23). Diabetic subjects were made up of 111 men (age range = 33 - 74 years; mean age ± SD = 62.53 ±9.21) and 89 women (age range = 35 - 69 years; mean age ± SD = 58.44 ± 6.12). A hHigh resolution, dedicated small parts ultrasound machine (with a 10 MHz transducer) was used to assess the plantar aponeurosis. The fasting blood sugar levels (FBSL) of all patients and the HbA1c were recorded against the plantar aponeurosis thickness. The data was analyzed using SPSS (version 14.0). The results show that the plantar aponeurrosis of the diabetics was significantly thicker than that of the control group(p<0.05) Plantar aponeurosis thickness (PAT) was directly related to fasting blood sugar level. Male gender and BMI was also related to plantar aponeurosis thickness. PAT could therefore be useful in the assessment of blood sugar level and in the management of diabetes mellitus. © IDOSI Publications, 2010.