Lower limb arterial disease: assessment of risk factors in an elderly population

Doppler ultrasound measurement of ankle/brachial systolic blood pressure ratio was carried out in 295 elderly (mean 77.3, SEM +/- 0.3, range 68-92 years; males = 180) subjects. Of these, 49.8% (n = 147; males = 86) had evidence of lower limb arterial disease (ankle/brachial systolic blood pressure ratio less than 0.96). On multivariate analyses, excluding ischaemic heart disease as an independent variable, systolic blood pressure and current cigarette pack years were positively related to lower limb arterial disease while BMI and serum high density lipoprotein cholesterol were inversely related (multiple correlation coefficient = 0.277; P less than 0.0001). On including ischaemic heart disease as an independent variable, this was positively associated with lower limb arterial disease; the relationships of the other variables were similar except for a weaker (P = 0.055) relationship with serum high density lipoprotein cholesterol (multiple correlation coefficient = 0.296; P less than 0.0001). While the relationships demonstrated were relatively weak, the findings suggest that reversible risk factors are still relevant in the development of lower limb arterial disease in the elderly.