Incidence and Risk Factors of Peripheral Arterial Occlusive Disease in a Prospective Cohort of 700 Adult Men Followed for 5 Years

Excerpt

Merino et al. [1] describe a modestly sized prospective cohort of middle- to older-aged men in an urban setting and determine the incidence of peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD) over 5 years. A strength of this study is the rigorously measured ABI, definitions, and long, relatively complete follow-up. They use the standard AHA diagnostic definition of PAOD, namely, ABI <0.90. The defined incidence of PAOD was 12%, which is very similar to what has been reported in the US [2]. Most had moderate PAOD, with ABI >0.61. Risk factors included increased age and smoking. Not surprisingly, those with symptomatic atherosclerotic disease in other anatomic locations, i.e., cerebral and coronary beds, had a higher risk of symptomatic PAOD. These factors were an additive in risk. Interestingly, hypertension, diabetes, and an abnormal lipid profile were not associated with incident PAOD, possibly because of insufficient power or similar prevalence between groups. …