The high coronary artery disease (CAD) prevalence in patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is well known. However, the inverse relation has been little explored. We present, based on a systematic review and meta-analysis of the published evidence, a critical appraisal of the issue of AAA prevalence and also AAA predictive risk factors in patients with CAD, comparing it with AAA prevalence in subjects without CAD. A total of 22 studies involving 13,388 patients with CAD met the inclusion criteria. Overall, AAA prevalence in patients with CAD was 8.4% (95% confidence interval [CI] 6.9 to 10.3), significantly higher than in subjects without CAD (odds ratio [OR] 2.42, 95% CI 2.08 to 2.81). Pooled analysis revealed that smoking, arterial hypertension, and concomitant carotid artery stenosis were significantly associated with AAA in patients with CAD (OR 1.72, 95% CI 1.14 to 2.61; OR 1.57, 95% CI 1.06 to 2.35; OR 2.14, 95% CI 1.20 to 3.79, respectively). In patients with CAD, AAA prevalence tended to be higher with concomitant peripheral artery disease (OR 2.66, 95% CI 0.82 to 8.61, p = 0.08). In conclusion, AAA prevalence was significantly higher in patients with CAD versus subjects without CAD.
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