Ethnicity and peripheral arterial disease.
OBJECTIVE
To determine whether race/ethnicity is an independent risk factor for peripheral arterial disease (PAD).


METHODS
From September 2000 through August 2001, we screened patients (age > or = 55 years) for PAD within 4 primary care clinics located in the Houston, Tex, area. Variables that were bivariately associated with PAD (P< or = .05) were selected for entry into a multivariate logistic regression model to determine the independent risk factors for PAD.


RESULTS
Among 403 patients (136 white, 136 African American, and 131 Latino patients, 81 of whom were Spanish speaking), the prevalence of PAD was 22.8% among African American patients, 13.7% among Latino patients, and 13.2% among white patients (P = .06). Within the multivariate model, adjusting for age, smoking status (odds ratio [OR], 2.58; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.27-5.25), diabetes mellitus (OR, 2.98; 95% CI, 1.58-5.63), hypertension (OR, 2.58; 95% CI, 1.12-5.95), and education, African American and Latino patients were not more likely than white patients to have a diagnosis of PAD (OR 1.89, 95% CI 0.89-3.99 and OR 1.54, 95% CI 0.59-4.06, respectively).


CONCLUSIONS
After adjusting for atherosclerotic risk factors and level of education, ethnicity was not an independent risk factor for PAD. When determining ethnic variation in outcomes among patients with PAD, efforts are needed to better understand the role of the primary care setting to reduce the burden of social inequality on health.
Collins
Tracie C
TC
Houston Center for Quality of Care and Utilization Studies, Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Houston, Tex 77030, USA. tcollins@bcm.tmc.edu
Petersen
Nancy J
NJ
Suarez-Almazor
Maria
M
Ashton
Carol M
CM
D001741:Black or African American; D005006:Ethnicity; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D016491:Peripheral Vascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics*; D012307:Risk Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology