[Polyarterial pathology. Epidemiological aspects]

Polyarterial arteriosclerosis is a problem facing more and more clinicians because of the technical advances in exploration and revascularization methods. Epidemiologic data are rare in this field except for Framingham's study. We are reporting here the results of a French epidemiologic study regarding a representative sample of a group of 11,000 active men and women, with age ranging between 25 and 65 years. Methodologic difficulties cannot be avoided, but a minimal estimation may be expressed: polyarterial pathology represents approximately 15 p. cent of the pathology in each case. Polyarterial pathology is as prevalent as monoarterial pathology with a 10 years delay between the two sexes. Coronary diseases are the most frequent and represent the initial location in two-thirds of the cases. The same risk factors are found, but their chronology is different: more than ever, age is an essential factor since there is a ten years difference. Hyperglycaemia in men, overweight in women are major factors as important as tobacco abuse in men, arterial hypertension and dyslipidemia in both sexes. Finally the type A behavior seems to occupy an even larger role in polyarterial patients of both sexes.