We measured ABI in 990 consecutive patients (400 men and 590 women) aged 50 years or older (71.2 ± 9.1) without a history or symptoms suggestive of PAD. ABI values below 0.90 were considered abnormal.
PAD was detected in 356 patients (36 % ), and men had a higher prevalence than women (p < 0.001). Hypertension (p < 0.001), smoking (p < 0.001), diabetes (p < 0.05), male sex (p < 0.001), and dyslipidemia (p < 0.05) were statistically more frequent in patients with PAD, whereas obesity had no significant relation to PAD in our series. In a stepwise, logistic regression analysis, hypertension, male sex, diabetes mellitus, smoking, and dyslipidemia were found to be independent risk factors with odds ratios (95 % confidence intervals) of 2.46 (1.85–3.27), 2.25 (1.66–3.05), 1.80 (1.32–2.47), 1.78 (1.31–2.42), and 1.64 (1.22–2.19), respectively.
A simple ABI measurement revealed a large number of patients with unrecognized PAD. It is, therefore, recommended that ABI measurement should be included in the evaluation of cardiovascular risk in hospitalized patients aged 50 years or older.