ArticleJournal of foot and ankle research2026
Relation Between Calcaneal Fat Pad Thickness and Plantar Foot Ulceration in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.
Article in Journal of foot and ankle research, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionThinning of fat pads may elevate the risk of developing plantar foot ulcers potentially resulting in lower-extremity amputations. Evaluating whether fat pad thickness is associated with plantar foot ulceration could aid in early risk detection. This study therefore aims to compare fat pad thickness between type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients with and without plantar foot ulcers using MRI.
methodsThis retrospective cross-sectional study included patients diagnosed with T2DM of whom a nonweight bearing MRI of the ankle or foot was available. The thickness of the calcaneal fat pad was measured in the sagittal plane, measuring perpendicularly from the lowest cortex of the calcaneal bone to and including the skin. Calcaneal fat pad thickness was compared between T2DM patients with and without plantar foot ulceration.
resultsIn total, 42 patients were included of which 16 in the T2DM group with plantar foot ulceration. The calcaneal fat pad was significantly thinner in T2DM patients with plantar foot ulceration compared to those without plantar foot ulceration (15.7 ± 3.2 mm vs. 18.6 ± 2.8 mm, p = 0.004).
conclusionThis study established an initial association between fat pad thickness and plantar foot ulceration in T2DM patients. Our findings suggest that a reduction in calcaneal fat pad thickness may decrease the shock-absorbing ability of the plantar fat pads, making the underlying tissue more vulnerable to injury, increasing the risk of developing plantar foot ulcers. The initial association between fat pad thickness and foot ulceration should be further explored to discover its potential in clinical practice.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.