A STUDY OF THE PREVALENCE OF PERIPHERAL ARTERIAL DISEASE AND DIABETES IN SPAIN

Aim. To evaluate the prevalence of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) in diabetic patients and the prevalence of diabetes in patients with PAD in Spain by means of an observation-based cross-sectional study. Patients and methods. The method chosen for this analysis was to measure the ankle-brachial index in diabetic patients who visited endocrinology departments and also the measurement of glucose levels in patients who visited vascular surgery. Eligibility criteria were patients of any age and gender who signed the consent documents. In all, 2293 patients were included, 477 (20.8%) in visits to the endocrinology department and 1816 (79.2%) in visits to vascular surgery. The mean age of patients was 59 years old in endocrinology and 68 years old in visits to vascular surgery. Males accounted for 53.2% and 81.5% of the visits to endocrinology and vascular surgery, respectively. A history of cerebrovascular events was present in 11.8 and 15.8%, 19.5 and 27.9% had a history of heart disease and 25.0 and 97.8% had a history of known peripheral arterial disease, in endocrinology and vascular surgery, respectively. Results. The prevalence of PAD among those who visited endocrinology was 37.3%, 34.6% of which were mild-moderate and 2.6% were severe. The prevalence of PAD increased with age, in males, in the presence of metabolic syndrome and with the number of years since the onset of diabetes. The prevalence of diabetes in vascular surgery patients was 67.6%. The prevalence of diabetes increased with body mass index, in females, and in the presence of metabolic syndrome. Conclusions. This study confirms the high prevalence of PAD and diabetes in Spain and establishes guidelines to be followed for the optimisation of therapy.