Prevalent peripheral arterial disease and inflammatory burden

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular Medicine
• Inflammation Research
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Inflammation is a known factor in atherosclerotic heart disease.
• The role of inflammation in peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is less understood.
• This study investigates the association between inflammatory burden and PAD.

Purpose of the Study:

• To test the hypothesis that a composite index of inflammatory burden is associated with prevalent PAD.
• To quantify the relationship between specific inflammatory markers and PAD.
• To compare the impact of inflammatory burden on PAD to the effect of aging.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional analysis of 903 community-dwelling men from the MrOS cohort.
• Measurement of seven cytokines in blood samples.
• Assessment of prevalent PAD using ankle-brachial index (ABI <0.9) and an inflammatory burden score.

Main Results:

• 6.75% of men had prevalent PAD (ABI <0.9).
• Higher levels of interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor alpha, and C-reactive protein were associated with increased odds of PAD.
• An inflammatory burden score (≥3 pro-inflammatory cytokines) was associated with 3.6 times increased odds of PAD.

Conclusions:

• Inflammatory burden is significantly associated with prevalent PAD.
• This association is comparable in magnitude to aging by 10 years.
• Smoking's inflammatory effects contribute to the observed inflammation-PAD link.