Influencia de los pies como factor predictor en el proceso de Salud vs Enfermedad

Abstract

Introduction: The feet are an essential pillar of people's health, and due to their complex anatomical characteristics, they play a key role in posture and ambulation, since they are responsible for the autonomy, independence and wellbeing of the individual. Currently, there is an increase in the prevalence of foot pathologies, which is why they constitute an important public health problem. In addition, there are other factors, such as the difficulty in managing foot problems, partly due to their multifactorial etiology and their chronicity. For this reason, the objective of this thesis by compendium of published articles is to analyze the influence of the feet, as a predictor factor in the process of health vs disease, where the study subjects belong to different groups of patients who present Chronic Pain (CD), Parkinson's disease (PD) and Diabetes Mellitus (DM). Methods: Three quantitative, descriptive, observational, cross-sectional, and analytical studies were carried out under the criteria included in the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology clinical guidelines. With the three case-control studies, it has been possible to assess, using validated tools, predictive factors of foot health. Results: Patients with CD, PD and DM show a significant reduction in quality of life and general health compared to a sample of healthy people. Conclusions: Foot pathology has a great impact on reducing the quality of life. This thesis by compendium of publications comes to show the real needs of podiatric care in a population sample. In the three population groups studied: DC, PD and DM, all of them show a considerable deterioration in foot health, with more significant factors in patients with DM and where patients with DC show the highest health indicator.