The number of young people who have amputations due to diabetes has trebled in the last 10 years.
Records show that in the last year alone, 17 people below the age of 29 have had limbs removed – up from six in 2011-12, and just two in 2009-10.
But it is feared the figure is far worse because the pandemic has caused a backlog in diagnosis and amputations.
Lucy Nazeer, who had Type 1 diabetes at 14, lost both legs by 35.
She said: “I wish someone had told me when I was younger that if I didn’t look after myself this would happen.”
Lucy, of Frimley, Hants, lost her right leg in 2016 after fracturing her ankle. In 2019 she lost her left leg the same way.
The NHS says people with diabetes are 15 times more likely to have amputations, as their bodies cannot repair tissue damage as well as before. Type 1 increases the risk more than Type 2.
Lucy, 38, said: “Young people should be paired with someone older with diabetes for advice, to help avoid this.”
Emma Joy-Staines, of amputation charity Steel Bones, said our findings were “very worrying”.
She said: “The pandemic put people off seeking help. I think there’s a whole cohort of people who haven’t even been flagged yet but will need amputations.”
Esther Walden, of Diabetes UK, said: “The number of people with diabetes is increasing rapidly. We estimate the current total to be about 4.9 million.”
Diabetes-related amputations overall have risen by a third in 10 years, to 2,912 in the last year, according to the NHS.
