Risk factors for peripheral artery disease among patients with diabetes in Saudi Arabia

Little is known about the risk factors for peripheral artery disease (PAD) among diabetic patients in Saudi Arabia. We therefore investigated the association of traditional and non-traditional PAD risk factors, as well as clinical markers, with the prevalence of PAD in 598 diabetic patients in Saudi Arabia. PAD was diagnosed as an ankle-brachial index (ABI) <0.9. Information on socio-demographic variables, smoking status, duration of diabetes, and medication were collected by questionnaire. Body weight, height, blood pressure and clinical markers were also measured. The prevalence of PAD in this population was 23.1%. Hypertension (OR (odds ratio) = 2.13, 95% CI: 1.29-3.52), obesity (OR=1.75, 95% CI: 1.13-2.73) and longer duration of diabetes (OR for ≥20 years vs 2-4 years = 3.30, 95% CI: 1.66-6.58) were independently and significantly associated with a higher prevalence of PAD. Participants with the highest quartile of fasting blood glucose and homocysteine levels had a 67% (OR=1.67, 95% CI: 0.89-3.31) and 78% (OR=1.78, 95% CI: 0.87-3.66) higher prevalence of PAD, respectively. Our study identified several important and largely modifiable risk factors for PAD in this Saudi population with diabetes. These findings underscored the importance of reducing cardiovascular risk factors in patients with diabetes.