title: Risk factors for lower extremity arterial disease in non-insulin-dependent diabetic persons.
abstract: The relationship of lower extremity arterial disease to the different risk factors for atherosclerosis in non-insulin-dependent (Type 2) diabetes mellitus is a matter of continuing investigation. The present study was conducted on a random sample of 193 non-insulin-dependent diabetic patients in order to compare the frequency and severity of some known risk factors for atherosclerosis among such persons with and without indications of lower extremity arterial disease. Conventional risk factors for atherosclerosis (smoking, existence of hypertension, total plasma cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, and triglycerides) were assessed. In addition body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio, body fat mass, and albumin excretion were determined. Criteria for the presence of lower extremity arterial disease were an ankle brachial pressure index < 0.89 and/or the existence of intermittent claudication. Age, length of diabetes, and waist-to-hip ratio appeared to be factors significantly related to lower extremity arterial disease in most cases. Blood lipids, body mass index, HbA1 (except in males), smoking, and type of antidiabetic treatment were not significantly related to disease. The multivariate analysis confirmed the significant contribution of the duration of diabetes (p = 0.002), and waist-to-hip ratio (p = 0.024) and further showed a significant relation with triglycerides (p = 0.020). Thus, lower extremity arterial disease in non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus is significantly related to a long duration of diabetes and to central body fat distribution (but not to body mass index), as well as to triglyceride levels.
authors.affiliation: First Department of Medicine, Athens University Medical School, Laiko General Hospital, Greece.
authors.forename: N L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Katsilambros
authors.forename: P C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Tsapogas
authors.forename: M P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Arvanitis
authors.forename: N A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Tritos
authors.forename: Z P
authors.initials: ZP
authors.lastname: Alexiou
authors.forename: K L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Rigas
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001161:Arteriosclerosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000097:blood / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003925:Diabetic Angiopathies / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016491:Peripheral Vascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D014280:Triglycerides; D002784:Cholesterol