Hadi Sarlak1,2 · Kamran Shakir1,2 · Giulia Rogati2 · Alberto Leardini2 · Lisa Berti1,3 · Paolo Caravaggi2
Received: 11 December 2025 / Accepted: 5 February 2026 © The Author(s) 2026
Abstract
Background Therapeutic footwear plays an important role in preventing ulceration in people with diabetes. Despite guide-lines recommending offloading footwear for individuals at risk of ulceration, limited data are available on the alignment between current industrial practices, clinical expectations, and evidence. This study explored current practices, priorities and challenges associated with diabetic footwear from manufacturers’ and clinicians’ perspectives across Europe.
Methods An exploratory cross-sectional survey was conducted between May and October 2025 to gather insights from diabetic footwear manufacturers and clinicians involved in diabetic foot care across Europe. A 26-item questionnaire was developed to explore product design, materials, innovation, and adherence to guidelines among manufacturers. Additionally, a separate 14-item questionnaire for clinicians examined footwear prescription, patient barriers, and industry communica-tion. Quantitative data were analysed descriptively, and open-text responses underwent thematic analysis.
Results Nine manufacturers and twelve clinicians participated in the survey. While only half of the Manufacturers that completed the survey reported having a research and development department, most reported adopting data-driven design approaches (n=8) and scientific literature (n=7). Offloading, internal volume, and toe protection were the highest-ranking priorities for manufacturers, whereas aesthetics ranked lowest. Clinicians, conversely, prioritised accommodation of defor-mities, offloading, and comfort, and highlighted poor aesthetics and shoe weight as major limitations to adherence.
Conclusions This exploratory study suggests partial alignment between diabetic footwear manufacturers and clinicians on functional and offloading features but highlights gaps in aesthetics, materials, and sustainability. Better collaboration, data-driven innovation, and clearer product specifications could improve user adherence, prescription efficacy, and the preventive role of therapeutic footwear in diabetes care.
Keywords Diabetic foot ulcers · Therapeutic footwear · Offloading · Survey · Footwear design
Communicated by Massimo Federici.
Kamran Shakir
该Email地址已收到反垃圾邮件插件保护。要显示它您需要在浏览器中启用JavaScript。
Hadi Sarlak
Giulia Rogati
Alberto Leardini
Lisa Berti
Paolo Caravaggi
1 Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, Via Zamboni,33, Bologna 40126, Italy
2 Movement Analysis Laboratory and Functional Evaluation of Prostheses, IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli, Via di Barbiano 1/10, Bologna 40136, Italy
3 Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Unit, IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli, Bologna 40136, Italy
Jolanta Szeliga-Krol1 · Agata Betlejewska1 · Monika Buraczynska1 · Wojciech Zaluska1
Received: 29 September 2025 / Accepted: 25 January 2026 © The Author(s) 2026
Aims Our study aimed to evaluate the association between the erythropoietin gene rs1617640 polymorphism and diabetic retinopathy (DR) in diabetes patients.
Methods In this preliminary retrospective study the genotyping was performed on 860 DNA samples from Caucasian patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). For analyzing the effect of the polymorphism, patients were assigned into three phenotypic subgroups: non-DR (without retinopathy), NPDR (with non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy) and PDR (with proliferative diabetic retinopathy). The rs1617640 polymorphism was analyzed using polymerase chain reaction (PCR)–restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and direct DNA sequencing procedures.
Results A statistically significant difference in the polymorphism distribution was observed between T2DM patients with DR (both NPDR and PDR) and those without DR. The minor G allele was associated with the increased risk of DR. In the NPDR subgroup subjects carrying the G allele had 1.53-fold higher risk of developing retinopathy. Similarly, in the PDR subgroup patients carrying the G allele showed almost twofold increased risk of PDR in a dominant model of inheritance.
Conclusion Our results demonstrate that in T2DM patients the EPO rs1617460 polymorphism is associated with signifi-cantly increased risk of developing DR. This finding can provide a new insight into the role of EPO gene in the pathophysi-ology of microvascular complications of diabetes.
Keywords EPO gene · Type 2 diabetes mellitus · Diabetic retinopathy · Single nucleotide polymorphism · Risk allele
Communicated by Marta Letizia Hribal.
Monika Buraczynska 该Email地址已收到反垃圾邮件插件保护。要显示它您需要在浏览器中启用JavaScript。
1 Department of Nephrology, Medical University of Lublin, Jaczewskiego 8, 20-950 Lublin, Poland
教授,烧伤科主任,博士生导师,国家级首批新世纪百千万人才工程人选、省烧伤外科专业委员会常委等。享受国务院特殊津贴。
管理治疗了大量烧烫伤、冻伤、电击伤、压疮及瘢痕患者,多次参与成批危重烧伤患者的救治工作。曾于国内外多所权威激光及整形治疗机构进修学习。
擅长: 各种烧伤治疗、表皮肿物去除和皮瓣成形、体表瘢痕防治,糖尿病足、褥疮、慢性难愈性创面的治疗;面部、胸部整形,自体脂肪移植。
从事整形、烧伤临床、教学、科研10年。2016年在中国科学院整形外科医院进修整1年,系统的学习了整形美容理论知识和临床手术技能。在国内第一作者发表论文6篇,参与发表论文20余篇,多篇为核心期刊。
伤口世界平台生态圈,以“关爱人间所有伤口患者”为愿景,连接、整合和拓展线上和线下的管理慢性伤口的资源,倡导远程、就近和居家管理慢性伤口,解决伤口专家的碎片化时间的价值创造、诊疗经验的裂变复制、和患者的就近、居家和低成本管理慢性伤口的问题。
2019广东省医疗行业协会伤口管理分会年会
扫一扫了解详情:
任何关于疾病的建议都不能替代执业医师的面对面诊断。所有门诊时间仅供参考,最终以医院当日公布为准。
网友、医生言论仅代表其个人观点,不代表本站同意其说法,请谨慎参阅,本站不承担由此引起的法律责任。