Quality of Life
When asked to rate their quality of life from 1 to 10, with 1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest, the majority of amputees responded that their quality of life was good to excellent (5 and above on the scale). The average rating was 7 and did not vary by type or reason for amputation.

Emotional Well-Being
The survey also inquired about people’s emotional states. The questions, which have been used in other studies to determine how people are feeling emotionally, asked how often each person experienced specific feelings such as loneliness, sadness, and happiness during the past month. Almost 30% of those surveyed were found to have a depressed mood.

By Cause
A higher proportion of people with traumatic amputation reported a depressed mood than those whose limb loss was from another cause.

By Age Group
A depressed mood was more often reported by the younger people who took the survey (under 54 years of age). The chart below shows the percentage of people in each age group reporting a depressed mood.

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