Analysis of traditional and nontraditional risk factors for peripheral arterial disease in elderly type 2 diabetic patients in Taiwan

Aims: Diagnosing peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and recognizing its associated risk factors in diabetes is important due to high cardiovascular disease and limb loss risk. However, both traditional and nontraditional risk factors have seldom been analyzed in the same diabetic cohort. The aim of this study was to examine the traditional and nontraditional risk factors for PAD in elderly type 2 diabetic patients. Methods: Five hundred and eighty type 2 diabetic subjects aged >= 60 years were cross-sectionally studied. Diagnosis of PAD was by ankle-brachial index (ABI) <0.90 on either leg. The association between traditional and nontraditional risk factors of PAD was analyzed. Results: Among the confounders, age, diabetes duration, HDL cholesterol, albuminuria, CKD (chronic kidney disease), hsCRP and insulin use differed between patients with and without PAD. Multiple logistic regression revealed that only CKD, insulin use, albuminuria, elevated hsCRP level (>3 mg/l) and low HDL cholesterol were independent risk factors. Conclusions: The findings of this study highlight the importance of monitoring nontraditional risk factors of PAD in diabetes. Implementing effective interventions to improve management of these risk factors may lower the risk for PAD. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.