Risk factors for peripheral arterial disease in the tropics and its comparison with the western population

ObjectiveTo identify and compare the existence of similar and other risk factors in the perspective of an Indian population.MethodsIt was designed as a case control study and was conducted in the Department of General and Vascular Surgery Unit 2 of Christian Medical College, Vellore, India between the periods July 2003 to June 2005. 100 patients with an ABPI< 0.9 and 100 controls were studied.ResultsPeripheral arterial disease (PAD) was found to be commoner among males (87%). While atherosclerosis was the commonest aetiology (54%), the incidence of Thromboangiitis Obliterans was also not uncommon (38%). Smoking was the main risk factor in the Indian context (83%) as compared to hypercholesterolemia (60%) in the West. The patients with atherosclerotic PAD were middle-aged and had concomitant diabetes (50%) and hypertension (30%).ConclusionsPeripheral arterial disease occurs in a relatively younger age group in India as compared to their Western counterparts. Thromboangiitis Obliterans was found to be a significant aetiology for arterial occlusive disease, with smoking as the primary risk factor followed by diabetes, hypertension and hypercholesterolemia.