The researchers at Johns Hopkins University, in collaboration with the Amputee Coalition of America, identified a group of individuals with amputations, age 18-84 years, from across the country. We selected people with amputations due to vascular disease, trauma, and cancer so that we could make comparisons across groups.

A total of 954 amputees completed the survey.
They included:

• 357 with amputation because of vascular problems (152 of these were diabetics)
• 368 trauma- or injury related-amputations
• 220 cancer-related amputations
• 9 with amputation due to other reasons such as infection

Over half of the survey participants were male (61%). The average age was 50 years old and ranged from 18 to 84 years. People who lost their limb to cancer did so at a younger age (average 30 years) while those with diabetes and vascular problems experienced their amputations at an older age (average 52 years). The average time elapsed since amputation was 10 years (range 6 months to 66 years). The majority of amputees had graduated from high school (93%) and were living in households that were above the national poverty line (63%).

The level of amputation varied by cause of amputation. The majority of vascular (52%) and traumatic (43%) amputees had a below-knee amputation, while 75% of cancer-related amputees had an above-knee amputation. Most of the upper-limb amputations were due to trauma or injury.

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