Peripheral Artery Disease in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: Survival Analysis of an Ecuadorian Population in Primary Care

BACKGROUND: Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is associated with cardiovascular risk in type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). The ankle-brachial index (ABI) is used for diagnosis of PAD. OBJECTIVES: Establish the prevalence and incidence rate for PAD and determine the associated factors and survival time for the development of PAD. METHODS: Retrospective cross-sectional cohort study (follow up: 10 years) in 578 DM patients with at least 1 ABI measurement in a primary level of care diabetes clinic. Data was collected from clinical records. Sociodemographic and laboratory variables were analyzed determining its association (mean difference and bivariate logistic regression). Survival was calculated through life tables and Kaplan-Meier analysis. RESULTS: The prevalence of PAD was 13.98%. The incidence rate through the time of follow up was 23.38 per 1000 person-year (95% CI: 19.91-27.26). The group that developed PAD showed higher glycated hemoglobin levels (P = .025), more years of DM (P < .001) and lower glomerular filtration rate (GFR, P = .003). The median time for developing PAD was 26.97 years (95% CI: 26.89-27.05). The risk for PAD was higher in females (95% CI: 1.51-4.38), GFR <60 mL/min/m(2) (95% CI: 1.05-2.22) and use of metformin plus insulin (95% CI: 1.10-2.35). CONCLUSION: Half of a DM patient’s population in primary level of care will develop PAD in the third decade of disease. There are identifiable risk factors for PAD development in DM in the primary level of care such as low GFR, female sex, and use of metformin plus insulin.