title: Increased prevalence of peripheral arterial disease in osteoporotic postmenopausal women.
abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and correlates of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) in a population of osteoporotic postmenopausal women. The presence of PAD was assessed by ankle brachial index (ABI) in 345 ambulatory osteoporotic postmenopausal women, and in 360 community-based, age- and race-matched postmenopausal women with normal bone mineral density (BMD) (control group). PAD was detected in 63/345 (18.2%) osteoporotic women and in 14/360 (3.8%) control subjects (P < 0.0001). The mean ABI values were significantly lower in the osteoporosis group than in the control group (0.98 +/- 0.09 vs. 1.04 +/- 0.06, P < 0.0001). No difference in cardiovascular risk factors was observed between osteoporotic patients and controls, or between osteoporotic patients with and without PAD. Osteoporotic patients with PAD had lower femoral neck BMD T scores than those without PAD (-4.2 +/- 0.7 vs. -2.3 +/- 0.7, P < 0.0001). Only 4 PAD patients (5.1%) had intermittent claudication. In multivariate logistic regression analysis, factors independently associated with PAD within osteoporotic patients were lower femoral neck BMD T score (odds ratio (OR) = 0.20, 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.05-0.70, P = 0.01) and systolic blood pressure (OR = 1.02, 95% CI, 1.00-1.03, P = 0.01). This study shows for the first time an increased prevalence of PAD among osteoporotic postmenopausal women, with a lower femoral neck BMD T score being a significant independent predictor. The findings suggest that vascular status evaluation should be done in osteoporotic postmenopausal women in order to identify candidate patients for preventive and therapeutic cardiovascular interventions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, University of Catania School of Medicine, Clinica Medica "L. Condorelli," Ospedale Vittorio Emanuele, Via Plebiscito 628 95124, Catania, Italy. rmangiafico@tiscali.it
authors.forename: Roberto Antonio
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Mangiafico
authors.forename: Enzo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Russo
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Riccobene
authors.forename: Pietra
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pennisi
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mangiafico
authors.forename: Ferdinando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: D'Amico
authors.forename: Carmelo Erio
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Fiore
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001158:Arteries / Q000473:pathology; D015519:Bone Density; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000473:pathology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D050723:Fractures, Bone; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008875:Middle Aged; D015233:Models, Statistical; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010024:Osteoporosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology; D015663:Osteoporosis, Postmenopausal; D016491:Peripheral Vascular Diseases / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D017698:Postmenopause; D015995:Prevalence; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors