An Overview of Peripheral Artery Disease in the Elderly: A Study in a Tertiary Hospital Southern Nigeria

BACKGROUND: The incidence of Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD), one of the manifestations of atherosclerosis, is increasing worldwide with significant effects on the quality of life. The disease is a strong prognostic marker for future cardiovascular events in people over 60 years, but relatively little is known about the condition among the elderly in sub-Saharan Africa. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and pattern of peripheral artery disease in elderly patients. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional hospital-based study was carried out among elderly patients aged 60 years and above attending the Geriatric Clinic of the Department of Family Medicine of University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Edo State, Nigeria, from September to November 2017. Using systematic random sampling technique, 370 respondents were recruited from a sampling frame of 2160 respondents and a sampling fraction of 6. A structured questionnaire was administered to collect data on sociodemographic characteristics, lifestyle variable, and medical history. The ankle-brachial index (ABI) and toe-brachial index (TBI) were used to assess for PAD. The analysis was done using descriptive statistics. RESULTS: The mean age was 69.3 ± 7 years comprising 76.5% females, 50% of the respondents were married, while 47% were widowed. The ABI showed 35.4% prevalence of PAD, while TBI for respondents with elevated ABI was 45.0%. CONCLUSION: The study showed a point prevalence of PAD to be 37.8%. From the total respondents, 45.7% had mild, while 2.9% had severe PAD. Routine screening for PAD is recommended for the early detection and management.