Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2011 Nov 1;174(9):1036-43.
doi: 10.1093/aje/kwr228. Epub 2011 Sep 13.

Association of body mass index with peripheral arterial disease in older adults: the Cardiovascular Health Study

Joachim H Ix  1 , Mary L Biggs, Jorge R Kizer, Kenneth J Mukamal, Luc Djousse, Susan J Zieman, Ian H de Boer, Tracy L Nelson, Anne B Newman, Michael H Criqui, David S Siscovick
Affiliations

Association of body mass index with peripheral arterial disease in older adults: the Cardiovascular Health Study

Joachim H Ix et al. Am J Epidemiol. .

Abstract

The authors hypothesized that the absence of cross-sectional associations of body mass index (BMI; weight (kg)/height (m)(2)) with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) in prior studies may reflect lower weight among persons who smoke or have poor health status. They conducted an observational study among 5,419 noninstitutionalized residents of 4 US communities aged ≥ 65 years at baseline (1989-1990 or 1992-1993). Ankle brachial index was measured, and participants reported their history of PAD procedures. Participants were followed longitudinally for adjudicated incident PAD events. At baseline, mean BMI was 26.6 (standard deviation, 4.6), and 776 participants (14%) had prevalent PAD. During 13.2 (median) years of follow-up through June 30, 2007, 276 incident PAD events occurred. In cross-sectional analysis, each 5-unit increase in BMI was inversely associated with PAD (prevalence ratio (PR) = 0.92, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.85, 1.00). However, among persons in good health who had never smoked, the direction of association was opposite (PR = 1.20, 95% CI: 0.94, 1.52). Similar results were observed between BMI calculated using weight at age 50 years and PAD prevalence (PR = 1.30, 95% CI: 1.11, 1.51) and between BMI at baseline and incident PAD events occurring during follow-up (hazard ratio = 1.32, 95% CI: 1.00, 1.76) among never smokers in good health. Greater BMI is associated with PAD in older persons who remain healthy and have never smoked. Normal weight maintenance may decrease PAD incidence and associated comorbidity in older age.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Kaplan-Meier curve for time to first clinical peripheral arterial disease (PAD) event by sex-specific quartile of body mass index (weight (kg)/height (m)2), Cardiovascular Health Study, 1989–2007. For women, body mass index quartiles 1–4 were defined as <23.1, 23.1–25.9, 26.0–29.4, and ≥29.5; for men, they were defined as <23.9, 23.9–26.0, 26.1–28.3, and ≥28.4.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Kaplan-Meier curve for time to first clinical peripheral arterial disease (PAD) event by sex-specific quartile of body mass index (weight (kg)/height (m)2) in participants who had never smoked and reported good health status, Cardiovascular Health Study, 1989–2007. For women, body mass index quartiles 1–4 were defined as <23.1, 23.1–25.9, 26.0–29.4, and ≥29.5; for men, they were defined as <23.9, 23.9–26.0, 26.1–28.3, and ≥28.4.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Selvin E, Erlinger TP. Prevalence of and risk factors for peripheral arterial disease in the United States: results from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1999–2000. Circulation. 2004;110(6):738–743. - PubMed
    1. Fowkes FG, Murray GD, Butcher I, et al. Ankle brachial index combined with Framingham Risk Score to predict cardiovascular events and mortality: a meta-analysis. JAMA. 2008;300(2):197–208. - PMC - PubMed
    1. McDermott MM, Fried L, Simonsick E, et al. Asymptomatic peripheral arterial disease is independently associated with impaired lower extremity functioning: the Women's Health and Aging Study. Circulation. 2000;101(9):1007–1012. - PubMed
    1. Regensteiner JG, Hiatt WR, Coll JR, et al. The impact of peripheral arterial disease on health-related quality of life in the Peripheral Arterial Disease Awareness, Risk, and Treatment: New Resources for Survival (PARTNERS) Program. Vasc Med. 2008;13(1):15–24. - PubMed
    1. Criqui MH, Fronek A, Klauber MR, et al. The sensitivity, specificity, and predictive value of traditional clinical evaluation of peripheral arterial disease: results from noninvasive testing in a defined population. Circulation. 1985;71(3):516–522. - PubMed

Publication types