Prevalence of Peripheral Arterial Disease and Risk Factors for the Low and High Ankle-Brachial Index in Chinese Patients with Type 2 Diabetes

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) in Chinese type 2 diabetic patients, and to compare the different risk factors for the low and high ankle-brachial index (ABI). A total of 2040 patients (1001 men and 1039 women) aged 67.0 ± 10.7 years were recruited from 8 university hospitals. PAD was diagnosed by ABI < 0.9 on either leg. Thirty-four possible risk factors were analyzed. Univariate analyses were used to compare the different risk factors between three ABI groups (ABI < 0.9, ABI 0.9-1.3 and ABI > 1.3), and logistic regression analyses were used to identify the independent risk factors. The overall prevalence of PAD was 16.7%. Older age, female gender, history of coronary heart disease (CHD), cerebral infarction (CI), PAD, claudication, longer diabetes mellitus (DM) duration, high blood pressure (HBP), smoking, using diuretics and having a high level of uric acid (UA) were independently associated with low ABI (ABI < 0.9), and male gender and high body mass index (BMI) were associated with high ABI (ABI > 1.3).