Retraction: Multi-country Study on the Prevalence and Clinical Features of Peripheral Arterial Disease in Type 2 Diabetic Patients Who are at High Risk for Atherosclerosis

Abstract

Background: PAD-SEARCH (Peripheral Arterial Disease - Screening and Evaluation of diabetic patients in Asian Regions Characterized by High risk factors) is the first international study to investigate the prevalence of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) in Asian type 2 diabetic patients and to demonstrate the relationships between the putative risk factors and PAD in this population. Methods: A total of 6,625 type 2 diabetic patients (2,873 males and 3,752 females aged 50 and older) were enrolled in PAD-SEARCH in Korea, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Thailand and Philippines from October 2003 to March 2004. The Fukuda vascular profile was used to determine the ankle-brachial index (ABI) and the brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV). Results: The mean patient age was 63.7 8.2 years and the mean duration of diabetes was 10.3 8.0 years. 1,172 (17.7%) subjects were diagnosed as PAD by the ABI ( 0.9). Subjects with PAD had a significantly longer duration of diabetes or hypertension, a higher HbA1c level and a significantly lower mean BMI than did the non-PAD subjects. In terms of the lipid profiles, triglyceride was the only significant variable. Notably, the mean ABI and baPWV in the females were significantly poorer than the age matched males for the in subjects with a normal ABI. However, the mean ABI and baPWV in males were significantly poorer than those of the age matched females for the subjects with PAD. On the multivariate analysis, gender, age, BMI, smoking status, duration of diabetes and a previous history of cerebrovascular disease were identified as the independent risk factors of PAD. Conclusion: These findings suggest that PAD is a common complication in Asian type 2 diabetic patients. Therefore, PAD screening and treatment should be emphasized for Asian diabetic patients with high risk factors.