T. Shinozaki et al., Ankle-arm index as an indicator of atherosclerosis: Its application as a screening method, J CLIN EPID, 51(12), 1998, pp. 1263-1269
Citations number
30
Categorie Soggetti
Envirnomentale Medicine & Public Health","Medical Research General Topics
ankle-arm blood pressure index (AAI) is seldom used to screen for atheroscl
erotic diseases other than lower extremity arterial disease. This study was
conducted to investigate whether the AAI can be used as a screening test f
or atherosclerotic diseases in general. The subjects were 446 male workers
in a copper smelter. Fundoscopic examinations, electrocardiograms, serum ch
olesterol and triglyceride measurements, and AAI measurements were conducte
d. Information on past medical histories of diabetes mellitus and ischemic
heart disease, smoking, alcohol intake, duration of sleep and physical acti
vity were collected. The AAI correlated well with the results of the fundos
copic examinations, and an AAI of 1.00 gave the maximum sensitivity specifi
city product. The same AAI value also gave the maximum products for ST segm
ent depression in electrocardiograms and the past history of ischemic heart
disease. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that a low AAI value
was related to higher systolic brood pressure and current smoking but was
inversely related to alcohol intake. Our study validated the AAI in predict
ing persons with risk factors of atherosclerotic diseases. The AAI measurem
ents can be conducted at low cost, using simple techniques, and are noninva
sive. We propose that the AAI be widely used to screen for atherosclerotic
diseases, J CLIN EPIDEMIOL 51;12:1263-1269, 1998. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science
Inc.