Leg and foot ulcers. An epidemiological survey.

Medical records for leg and foot ulcer patients have been investigated, 1377 patients were found. The median age for women was 76 years and for men 70 years. Totally there was a majority of women, 61%. The age specific frequencies for leg and foot ulcer patients did however not differ between men and women. Thirty percent of all patients had ulcers on the feet only. The ratio between men and women for feet ulcers was 1:1. Men got their feet ulcers 5-10 years earlier than women. Seventeen percent of all patients had ulcers on the medial side of the calf only. Seventy percent of these patients were women. A rough estimate of the prevalence of leg and foot ulcer patients was made to between 0.2-0.4% of the whole population. The involvement of different medical disciplines in the care of leg and foot ulcer patients in Gothenburg is reported.