Mobility Analysis of AmpuTees II: Comorbidities and Mobility in Lower Limb Prosthesis Users.

Because this was a retrospective review of records, it cannot show that a comorbidity caused lower mobility. The sample was a convenience sample from clinics, and 402 of the 1000 records were excluded for missing verified comorbidity data, so the analysed 596 patients may not represent all lower limb prosthesis users. The study excluded people who had never used a prosthesis, and the chart review may have missed people who received a prosthesis but did not use it or abandoned it. Comorbidities were recorded mainly through patient report, so some health conditions may have been missed or reported inaccurately. For each patient, the highest mobility score was used, which represents best mobility rather than current mobility or change over time. Amputation level and whether the amputation was one-sided or two-sided were not analysed as factors. The study chose mobility as the outcome, and the authors note this may miss people whose prosthesis success is mainly through transfers. Some less common comorbidities had few people, so the study may not have been able to detect their effect.

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Do not conclude that having more comorbidities by itself means lower mobility. After age, stroke, peripheral vascular disease, and anxiety or panic disorders were taken into account, mobility did not differ across groups with different overall comorbidity counts.