Risk factors for and the prevalence of peripheral arterial disease and its relationship to carotid atherosclerosis: the Kyushu and Okinawa Population Study (KOPS).

Aim: Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is associated with cerebrovascular disease, ischemic heart disease, and other cardiovascular disease. We investigated the prevalence of and factors related to PAD to clarify the relationship between PAD and carotid atherosclerosis in a cross-sectional population-based study. Methods: The study included 2,402 (900 males and 1,502 females; mean +/- SD = 64.9 +/- 10.9 years) of 3,862 residents of two Japanese rural areas who reported for a free health examination in 2005 or 2006. An ankle brachial index value <= 0.9 was considered to be PAD. The carotid artery intima-media thickness (CA-IMT) was measured by carotid ultrasound. Results: The prevalence of PAD was 1.71% (n = 41) of all participants. The risk factors independently associated with a significantly higher risk of PAD, identified by multivariate analysis, are as follows: For males, age, dyslipidemia, and CA-IMT, and for females, age, waist circumference, and dyslipidemia. Conclusion: The prevalence of PAD in Japan was confirmed to be lower than that of similar studies performed in other countries. PAD was strongly correlated with age and dyslipidemia in both sexes, carotid atherosclerosis in males, and abdominal fat in females.