The role of haematological factors in diabetic peripheral arterial disease: the Edinburgh Artery Study

The relationship between haematological factors and peripheral arterial dis ease (PAD) among diabetics has not been widely examined. 1592 men and women aged 55-74 years were selected from the general population, They underwent an assessment for PAD and a glucose tolerance test. 288 subjects (18.7%) w ere identified as having diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), Amon g the diabetes/IGT group, median levels of fibrinogen, von Willebrand facto r (VWF), tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA), fibrin D-dimer and plasma vis cosity were higher in subjects with PAD than those without PAD (P less than or equal to 0.05). The prevalence of PAD was higher in those with diabetes /IGT (20.6%) compared to those with normal glucose tolerance (12.5%) (odds ratio 1.64: 95% CI 1.17, 2.31). After separate adjustment for fibrinogen, V WF, t-PA, fibrin D-dimer, leucocyte elastase, plasma viscosity and haematoc rit, those with diabetes/IGT no longer had a significantly higher risk of P AD compared to those with a normal glucose tolerance test. Simultaneous adj ustment for the first four of these haematological factors reduced the risk of PAD among subjects with diabetes/IGT to 1.11 (95% CI 0.76, 1.63). Incre ased levels of haemostatic factors may partly explain the higher prevalence of PAD in diabetic/IGT subjects compared to normal glucose-tolerant subjec ts. Future randomized controlled trials involving the indirect lowering of levels of haematological factors should help to explain whether the associa tions reported here are of causal significance.