Objective: This study was to examine the relation of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and renal insufficiency in cardiovascular patients with high risk.
Methods: PAD, defined as an ankle brachial index (ABI) ≤ 0.9 in either leg and renal insufficiency, defined as an estimated creatinine clearance (CRCL) < 60 ml×min(-1)×1.73 m(-1) were evaluated in 5270 Chinese patients at high risk of CV.
Results: 2648 (50.2%) patients had an estimated CRCL < 60 ml×min(-1)×1.73 m(-1), while 746 (14.2%) patients having PAD defined ABI ≤ 0.9. ABI and CRCL were positively correlated (r = 0.217, P < 0.001). The prevalence of PAD in patients with renal dysfunction was significantly higher than those with normal renal function (19.9% vs. 8.3%, P < 0.001). The association of ABI ≤ 0.9 with CRCL was independent from potential confounders such as age, diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, smoking, coronary artery disease and stroke history (OR = 0.98, 95%CI: 0.98 - 0.99, P < 0.001).
Conclusion: Results from the present study demonstrated a remarkably high prevalence of PAD (defined as an ABI ≤ 0.9) among patients with renal dysfunction and at high risk. Even after adjustment for important confounders such as age, diabetes, and coronary artery and cerebro-vascular diseases etc., persons with lower CRCL were still more likely to have an ABI ≤ 0.9.