Clinical Aspects of Foot Health in Individuals with Alzheimer’s Disease

Daniel López-López, Marta Grela-Fariña, Marta Elena Losa-Iglesias, César Calvo-Lobo, David Rodríguez-Sanz, Patricia Palomo-López and Ricardo Becerro- de-Bengoa-Vallejo
Additional contact information
Daniel López-López: Research, Health and Podiatry Unit, Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Nursing and Podiatry, Universidade da Coruña, 15403 Ferrol, Spain
Marta Grela-Fariña: Research, Health and Podiatry Unit, Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Nursing and Podiatry, Universidade da Coruña, 15403 Ferrol, Spain
Marta Elena Losa-Iglesias: Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad Rey Juan, 28922 Carlos, Spain
César Calvo-Lobo: Nursing and Physical Therapy Department, Institute of Biomedicine (IBIOMED), Universidad de León, 24401 Ponferrada, Spain
David Rodríguez-Sanz: Research Group, Faculty of Health, Exercise and Sport, European University of Madrid, 28670 Villaviciosa de Odón, Spain
Patricia Palomo-López: University Center of Plasencia, Universidad de Extremadura, 06071 Badajoz, Spain
Ricardo Becerro- de-Bengoa-Vallejo: School of Nursing, Physiotherapy and Podiatry, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain

IJERPH, 2018, vol. 15, issue 2, 1-6

Abstract: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) shows a marked presence of physiologic changes and the start or aggravation of underlying diseases such as physical frailty in diverse anatomical regions. It is believed to have a particularly harmful effect on the health of the foot. We examined the foot health status in older persons with AD, with a specific focus on the extent to which people with AD may be using inadequate footwear in old age. Seventy-three community-dwelling people with probable, mild to moderate AD aged 65–95 years were recruited from a center of excellence for AD. A single trained physician evaluated health status and foot conditions. Current shoe and foot length and width measurements were taken using a calibrated Brannock device. The results indicate that sixty-five participants (89.04%) suffered from feet problems. Also, only twenty-two subjects (30.14%) used the correct shoes in width and size related with the morphology of their feet. Fifty-one participants (69.86%) were using incorrect shoes in length or width. The present study revealed that peoples with AD had a high presence of foot health problems. Also, the use of inappropriate shoes revealed measurable differences of association between shoe size and the morphology of the foot.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; foot diseases; joint flexibility; musculoskeletal system; shoes (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:15:y:2018:i:2:p:286-:d:130671

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