Prevalence of impaired glucose metabolism in individuals with peripheral arterial disease

Abstract

Epidemiologic studies show an extremely high prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and of impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) in patients with coronary artery disease. However, the prevalence of abnormal glucose metabolism in patients with sonographically proven peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is unknown. We aimed at investigating the prevalence of impaired glucose metabolism in patients with PAD. We enrolled 150 consecutive patients (mean age 68 ± 11 years; 108 men and 42 women) who underwent routine duplex sonography for the evaluation of suspected or established PAD and in whom PAD was verified sonographically. Oral glucose tolerance tests were performed in non-diabetic subjects. From our patients, 38.7% had type 2 diabetes. Among non-diabetic patients, 26.1% had impaired glucose tolerance (IGT). Among subjects with normal glucose tolerance, 23.5% had IFG. Thus, the overall prevalence of abnormal glucose metabolism was 65.3% in the investigated patients with sonographically proven PAD. In conclusion, abnormal glucose metabolism was present in 65.3% of our consecutive patients with sonographically proven PAD. Routine screening for abnormal glucose metabolism (including oral glucose tolerance tests) in PAD patients is warranted.