Risk Factors of Peripheral Vascular Disease in Diabetes Mellitus in Abbottabad, Pakistan: A Cross-Sectional Study

Introduction Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a significant and common risk factor for the development of peripheral vascular disease (PVD). Peripheral vascular disease is the atherosclerotic narrowing of peripheral arteries and has a high prevalence among patients with diabetes. Material and methods A cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Medicine of Ayub Teaching Hospital, Abbottabad. A total of 271 diagnosed diabetic patients aged 40 years or above were included in the study. Ankle-brachial pressure index (ABPI) was measured using a hand-held Doppler device and sphygmomanometer. An ABPI < 0.9 was taken to be abnormal. The risk factors were noted through history taking, physical examination, and appropriate investigations.  Results Our study sample included 271 patients. A hundred and forty-five (53.5%) of them were males, and 126 (46.5%) were females. Fifty-three (19.9%) out of 271 patients had peripheral vascular disease. The prevalence of peripheral vascular disease was stratified among smoking (p=0.00), hypertension (p=0.00), obesity (p=0.004), and hypercholesterolemia (p=0.005) to determine if there was any association between these and peripheral vascular disease. A p-value less than 0.05 was taken to be significant. Conclusion This study showed a significant association between PVD and smoking, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and obesity.